(Courtesy of Texas Lutheran Athletics)
RICHARDSON, Texas -- Texas Lutheran Women's Basketball closed out its championship 2018-19 season with a first round loss in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
The Bulldogs fell to No. 16 University of Texas at Dallas 62-51 in the UTD Activity Center on Friday night.The Bulldogs lost to No. 16 University of Texas at Dallas 62-51 in the UTD Activity Center.
TLU, champion of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, made its second NCAA tournament appearance in school history. The Bulldogs close out their season with an 19-10 overall record.
UTD advances to the meet the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday in the NCAA's second round. UTD improved to 25-4 with the win over the Bulldogs.
TLU fell behind by eight, 18-10, at the end of the first quarter and played the Comets within three points the rest of the way. The teams each scored 28 points over the second and third quarters, and UTD held a 16-13 edge in the fourth.
The Bulldogs closed within four points of the Comets on a Morgan Rodriguez (New Braunfels/Canyon) three-pointer at the 2:43 mark of the third quarter.
The Comets closed the third on a 4-0 run that extended the lead back to eight. Raenett Hughes hit a jumper with a second on the clock at the end of the period.
In the fourth, TLU got the UTD lead down to seven points after a pair of Olivia Balderas (San Antonio/Incarnate Word) free throws. The Comets pushed the lead to 13 with a 6-0 run.
Amber Terry made a layup at the 3:09 mark to give the Comets a 59-46 edge. TLU would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
TLU was held to 30.9 percent shooting for the game. The Bulldogs were 17-of-55 from the floor and 6-of-18 from the three-point line.
Dominique Campos (Laredo/Alexander) led TLU with 14 points. Rodriguez added 10.
Tara Molina (San Antonio/Johnson) dished out six assists, and Abby Hroch (Port Lavaca/Calhoun) added seven points and five rebounds.
Hughes and Mia Spennato each scored 13 for the Comets.
Friday's game was the final collegiate contests for two Bulldog seniors - guard Bryanna Delgado (Port Lavaca/Calhoun) and forward Presley Stephens (Crandall/Crandall).
