Fourth-quarter comeback comes up short

GEORGETOWN, Texas – Southwestern outscored Texas-Tyler 37-23 in the fourth quarter, including 12 points from Kelsey Faykus, but fell 94-92 in its home opener Friday.

• A steady flow of offense allowed the Patriots to lead by 10, 26-16, at the end of the first quarter.
• Olivia Podaras took advantage of being fouled on her layup, making the field goal and subsequent free throw to bring SU back within four, 34-30, with six minutes to play in the second. UTT hit a hot streak, however, and sent Southwestern into the locker room down 16, 52-36.
• The Pirates chipped away at the lead and opened the third on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit by almost half, 56-45, but UT-Tyler pushed the lead back to 16, 71-55, by the end of the third.
• Audrey Garcia's three with 4:35 remaining pulled the Pirates within single digits, 83-74, for the first time in the fourth quarter and ignited a Southwestern scoring spree.
• Faykus scored 10 of SU's final 18 points as Podaras' last-second shot rimmed out at the buzzer.

STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

• Audrey Garcia: 24 points, 7-16 field goals, 4-9 three-pointers, 6-7 free throws, four rebounds, five assists
• Kelsey Faykus: 20 points, 8-14 field goals, 4-5 free throws, five rebounds
• Olivia Podaras: 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists
• Tori Carraway: 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists

BREAKDOWN

• Field Goals: SU 33-74 (44.6%), UTT 31-64 (48.8%)
• 3-point: SU 7-17 (41.2%), UTT 15-29 (51.7%)
• Rebounds: SU 52, UTT 34
• Turnovers: SU 16, UTT 13

UP NEXT

Southwestern (0-3), still in search of its first win, heads up I-35 to take on Mary Hardin-Baylor (0-3) on Tuesday night at 5:30 pm.