TYLER, Tex.—University of Texas at Tyler Women's Basketball (13-11) dropped their final game of the regular season Saturday afternoon, 61-56, to Louisiana College (11-13) in the Patriot Center. The game marks the end of the regular season for the Patriots.
 
For the second-consecutive game, the Patriots jumped out to a large lead with a nine-point advantage at the first media timeout. Senior forward Bianca Valderrama (Corpus Christi, Texas) was 3-5 from the field in the first five minutes totaling seven points while junior guard Breana Powell (Forney, Texas) added four points. The Wildcats would eat into the lead slightly by the end of the first period, but UT Tyler maintained an 18-13 lead.
 
In the second period, the Patriot's were again able to push their lead back up to nine with three minutes to play. By the end of the first half, the Patriots had seven players add to the team point total led by Valderrama with nine. UT Tyler took a 31-26 lead into the halftime intermission with Powell and freshman guard Tyreesha Blaylock (Tyler, Texas) also adding six and five points, respectively.
 
The third period was all Louisiana College as they outscored the Patriots 25-8 in the period to take a 51-39 advantage by the end of the period. One highlight of the period for the Patriots was the play of senior guard Jolee Carswell (Millsap, Texas) who scored her fist six points of the game during the period on a pair of three pointers.
 
UT Tyler did manage to outscore the Wildcats in the fourth period, 17-10, but the comeback bid fell shy. Despite holding their opponent to just 33% shooting from the field, LC managed to hold on for the 61-56 victory.
 
Valderrama again led the Patriots in scoring with 14 points and fell just short of back-to-back double-doubles with 9 rebounds. Junior guard Carissa Spiker (Sanger, Texas) was also in double figures with 10 points.
 
After the conclusion of the game, the Patriots honored five seniors who will be graduating at the end of the season including Powell, Valderrama, Carswell, senior forward Samantha Odom (Allen, Texas), and senior guard Libby Waddell (The Colony, Texas). The game also marked the end of the regular season for UT Tyler who are not eligible for postseason during the NCAA Division II transition process.