TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler's strong defense and another hot shooting night from
Lovisa Hevinder took down the Greyhounds by a final score of 67-53.
The Patriots outscored Eastern New Mexico 28-18 in the paint on the evening and it was all started by six consecutive points in the paint to start the contest.
Destini Whitehead knocked down back to back layups and
Liah Davis added her own layup just over two minutes into the game to make the score 6-4.
That Patriots defense that has been so prevalent all season long forced the Greyhounds into a 5:52 scoreless drought in the middle of that first quarter. That gave Hevinder and
Montse Gutierrez plenty of time to get into the scoring column. Gutierrez knocked down an open look from deep and Hevinder followed with three more makes from beyond the arc in the next six minutes to open up an 18-9 lead going into the second quarter.
The second quarter mirrored the first, with two shots inside the paint from Whitehead and Davis leading to another three pointer from Hevinder to run the lead out to 16 points with 7:11 left in the half.
Eastern New Mexico stayed patient and made their run. After being down 16, the Greyhounds answered with a 13-2 run over a five minute stretch of game time to cut the lead to five. Hevinder slowed the run with a three pointer from the top of the key, but Bella Stone drilled a half court heave at the buzzer to go into the locker room down just five.
UT Tyler's defense answered the call to action and responded in a huge way to begin the second half. After giving up the big run to end the second quarter, the Patriots didn't allow the Greyhounds to score for the first 7:33 of the third quarter.
The offense took the opportunity to extend their lead and never look back. Gutierrez and Whitehead each knocked down a pair of free throws to begin the scoring, and Hevinder knocked down her sixth three pointer of the contest to run out to a quick 12 point lead. Gutierrez tacked on a three of her own, Davis added another bucket in the paint, and
Martina Machalova knocked down two free throws to stretch the run to 13-0.
After extending their lead all the way to 24 points following another layup in the paint from Whitehead, the Greyhounds responded with a 6-2 run over the next 2:58. That run was followed up by a 17-11 run from Eastern New Mexico to end the game.
The Patriots defense held strong all game long, holding the Greyhounds to just 27.4% shooting on the game, the second lowest for an opponent all season. That defense also held Eastern New Mexico to 23.1% from beyond the arc, which is also the second lowest for an opponent on the season.
UT Tyler on offense shot 44.6% from the field and 45.5% from deep. That percentage from deep is the second highest mark from this year.
Lovisa Hevinder has caught fire in her last two games inside the Herrington Patriot Center. Tonight, she finished at 6-for-9 from deep and that mark will go down tied for fifth best in school history. That comes after her previous game at home where she set the school record with nine made three pointers in a game.
Davis, Whitehead, and Gutierrez each scored in double figures with Hevinder, adding on 14, 13, and 10, respectively.
Kelsey Crouse stuffed the stat sheet yet again. This time collecting a team-high eight rebounds and dishing out a game-high seven assists.
Davis chipped in three blocks on the evening, and Gutierrez added in a game-high four steals.
Next on tap for UT Tyler is a pair of top 10 matchups over the next few days. They will welcome #4 Lubbock Christian to the Herrington Patriot Center on Saturday. That game will tipoff at 2 p.m. and each of the first 200 fans will receive a free taco courtesy of Fuzzy's Taco Shop.
Following the conclusion of Saturday's contest, the Patriots will make the short drive to Commerce, Texas to take on #6 Texas A&M-Commerce. That game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 18.
