(Portions of this story taken from the Southwestern University website)
IRVING, Texas - Southwestern University jumped out to a 39-22 halftime lead and never looked back as the Pirates won their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament title with a 71-58 victory over Trinity University Sunday on the campus of the University of Dallas. Box Score | Official Tournament Website | Women's Interactive Bracket
It is the program's first conference title since 1997-98 and the victory earns Southwestern a spot in the NCAA Division III Women's National Championship.
The Pirates were on fire in the first half, shooting a remarkable 60.9 percent from the floor and 63.6 percent from three point range while holding the Tigers to below 25.0 percent from both distances. Trinity was also held to just eight field goals and 22 points in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half Southwestern was able to maintain its double digit advantage throughout the first nine minutes, but Trinity eventually pulled within 14, at 50-36, with 10:54 remaining.
Behind an aggressive full court trapping press, the Tigers pulled within single digits for the first time since the 16:23 mark of the first half and trailed 65-56 with 1:20 to play. The Pirates, however, refused to be denied the title and confidently took care of business down the stretch to seal the championship.
SU closed the game shooting 56.4 percent from the floor, 47.1 percent from three-point range, and 79.2 percent from the free throw line. Jordan Owens, who was named the SCAC Tournament MVP, led the Pirates with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Annie Bourne, who joined Owens on the All-Tournament Team, added 12 points and 14 boards. All-tournament honoree Audrey Garcia and Madison Eschle chipped in with 12 points each.
Playing its third game in as many days, Trinity struggled offensively for much of the contest and shot just 27.6 percent from the floor and 19.4 percent from distance. Anecia Richardson finished with a team-high 15 points and Taylor Hollins and Hannah Coley had 13 points each.
Both Richardson and Coley joined Owens, Bourne and Garcia on the All-Tournament Team. Texas Lutheran's Kristen Lye was also named to the six-person squad.
Southwestern, the league's leading rebounding team, dominated the glass and posted a +15 rebounding margin. The Pirates, however, did committ 20 more turnovers than Trinity, 28-8.
With the victory, Southwestern improved to 15-12 on the season and will represent the SCAC in the NCAA Division III National Tournament as the league's automatic qualifier. The Pirates will learn their match-up during the NCAA selection show, which is scheduled to air tomorrow (Monday, March 2nd) at 2:30 pm EST. The selection show can be viewed online at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.
