WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS – The Patriots ended Midwestern State's 13 game home winning streak and extended their own winning streak to four thanks to strong defense on Monday night.
UT Tyler held the Mustangs to just 27.1% shooting on the night and 30.8% from beyond the arc. The Patriots were disruptive as well, forcing 16 turnovers and collecting eight steals as a team. They turned those 16 turnovers into 20 points on the night and used that to fuel the victory.
Midwestern State's Shawnisay Millar opened scoring with a three pointer, but the Patriots responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead all the way until nearly the end of the third quarter. All five Patriots starters contributed points to that run to start the contest to highlight the team effort from the game.
UT Tyler ran out to a 15-11 run through the first period, highlighted by holding the Mustangs to a 4:44 second scoreless run in the back half of the quarter.
The second quarter was a slow moving one for both offenses, as the teams combined for just 16 points total. The Patriots shot 28.6% in the quarter, and the Mustangs shot 23.1%. It was the Patriots defense proving to be the difference yet again, as they held Midwestern State to a 6:13 scoreless drought in the middle stretch of the second quarter.
It took nearly two minutes for either team to score in the second half, but
Montse Gutierrez got things going with a layup off of a nice pass from
Kelsey Crouse on the fast break. By the 5:21 mark of the third quarter, the Patriots had stretched their lead all the way to 14 thanks to four more points from Crouse and a
Liah Davis jumper.
Midwestern State responded to the big deficit by going on their first big run of the night. They finished out the quarter on a 17-2 run to take the lead 35-34 going into the fourth quarter. The Mustangs primarily scored from the free throw line, drawing eight personal fouls and then following that up by going 10 of 12 from the charity stripe.
30 seconds into the final quarter, Davis brought down a rebound and fed
Destini Whitehead who scored on the fastbreak to retake the lead and never let the Patriots look back.
Enisa Kamerolli cashed in a pair of free throws and Crouse nailed a three point jumper to start the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to put them ahead 43-35. The Patriots had extended their lead to 13 in the final frame before Midwestern State went on a 13-3 run to bring it back to a three point deficit.
In a huge moment with just 14 seconds left, Whitehead shot a three pointer that hit the rim as the shot clock hit zero. The ball went out of play, but the referees blew an inadvertent whistle which caused a jump ball. That jump ball went the Patriots way and allowed Kamerolli to draw the foul and nail a pair of crucial free throws to make the score 55-50 and put it out of reach for Midwestern State.
Kelsey Crouse led the way for the Patriots with 16 points as she went 5-6 from the free throw line and added in 5-7 shooting. Gutierrez added in 10 more points to be the other double figure scorer for UT Tyler on the night.
Gutierrez grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team and Davis added in six of her own as well as a team high three steals.
The Patriots continue to be dominant in the paint, outscoring the Mustangs 30-14 in that statistic. They also outrebounded Midwestern State 40-36 and had 18 assists to the Mustangs' 12.
The Patriots will next return home to play UAFS on Thursday night. That game will tip off at 5 p.m. inside the Herrington Patriot Center. That game will be a part of a two game homestand as UT Tyler will host Oklahoma Christian on Saturday at 2 p.m.
