(Story Courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The 14th-ranked Tiger women's basketball team was upset by 21st-ranked University of Texas at Dallas in a 74-69 loss in the First Round of the NCAA Playoffs on Friday night.
The NCAA First Round matchup featured five ties and 10 lead changes, and UT-Dallas was able to rally from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter to take the win.
The Comets scored four straight points to break a 16-16 tie late in the first quarter to begin to pull away, but Trinity netted five points in the final 25 seconds to make it a 23-21 UTD lead after one.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the second quarter, which ended up being the best period of the night for the home team. Trinity held UT-Dallas to just one field goal and four total points over the final 5:55 of the quarter, and the Tigers took a 36-31 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, UT-Dallas hit a shot to cut the lead to just four points at the 7:23 mark, but Trinity went on a 10-2 run over the next four minutes of action and led 50-38. The lead was still 12 after a Tiger three-pointer with 95 seconds left in the period, but the Comets outscored the Tigers 7-0 down the stretch to make it a 55-50 Trinity lead after three.
Trinity used four unanswered points to pull in front 61-54 with 6:10 left in the game, but UT-Dallas came back again with three straight baskets to make it a one-point game. The Comets tied things up 64-64 with 1:45 to play, then used a three-point play with 1:01 remaining to take control of the game. It marked the first UTD lead since the second quarter.
After Trinity missed a potential game-tying three-pointer on its next possession, UT-Dallas hit a pair of foul shots with 27 seconds left to go up by five points. The Tigers missed and were forced to foul on the next possession and the Comets were now up six with 20 seconds on the clock.
Following a timeout, Ashlyn Milton hit a three-pointer to cut the lead in half, but UT-Dallas hit 4-4 at the line over the final 17 seconds to seal the win.
Trinity falls to 23-5 this season with the loss, which is the second of the year against the Comets. UT-Dallas improves its record to 23-5 and will face the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in tomorrow's Second Round at 7:00 p.m.
Senior Abby Holland finished her storied career with 19 points and six rebounds, connecting on 6-13 from the field and 7-8 from the line.
Ashlyn Milton came off the bench with 13 points and five boards, hitting three three-point shots and picking up a pair of steals.
Julia Ackerman was the only other Tiger player to reach double figures in scoring, finishing the night with 11 points and a team-leading four assists.
Kelly Simmons combined eight points with her team-best eight rebounds, while Emily Daniel and Hailey Coleman chipped in with seven points each.
