TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler came up big down the stretch thanks to some clutch shots and free throws and were able to put away the late charge from Texas A&M-Kingsville and win by a score of 70-63.
In a contest between two evenly matched teams statistically, both teams played a tight first quarter. The largest lead came from the Javelinas at just four points, but that was quickly cut down from timely shooting by the Patriots.
Both teams shot 6-14 from the floor in the first quarter and both teams each made three shots from beyond the arc. The only difference was that Texas A&M-Kingsville made two free throws and they held a 17-15 lead.
The first 3:02 of the second quarter saw two ties and five different lead changes from both teams. Four different Patriots scored during that stretch of the game, with all of those coming inside the arc.
The Javelinas were able to keep their offense firing, ending the quarter on a 10-5 run to extend the lead out to seven. The second quarter saw the Patriots outshoot Texas A&M-Kingsville 46.15% to 43.75%, but the difference came from beyond the arc, where the Javelinas made three of their six attempts.
The second half started with the Patriots on fire. They ran out to a quick 7-3 run thanks to six points in the paint and one free throw. Strong defense from the Patriots held the Javelinas scoreless for a 3:20 stretch in the first half of the quarter. After cutting the lead down to just three points at the 5:29 mark, Texas A&M-Kingsville responded with an 8-2 run of their own to bring it back out to nine points.
Over the final 2:56 of the period, the Patriots offense exploded into a magical 14-4 run.
Destini Whitehead began the magic by knocking down a three pointer and a jumper in the paint to come up with a quick five points.
Liah Davis took her turn on the run by knocking down a pair of shots in the paint and cutting the lead down to three.
At the :31 second mark,
Kelsey Crouse took over for her share of the run. She came up clutch with a big and-1 to tie the contest. After a Javelinas free throw make,
Kelsey Crouse called her own number and drilled a buzzer beater at the left elbow to give the Patriots the lead going into the final quarter.
Defense came up huge again in the fourth quarter for the Patriots as they held Texas A&M-Kingsville scoreless for the first 4:33 of the period. That gave the offense time to stretch the lead out to nine thanks to Davis, Crouse and
Tina Machalova all scoring layups in the paint.
The Javelinas woke up at the 5:27 mark, going on their own 9-0 run over almost two minutes and tying the game right back up with just 3:36 to play. However,
Montse Gutierrez and
Lovisa Hevinder answered the call as they nailed back to back three pointers in a 42 second span, leading to a big fist pump from Hevinder.
After a strong layup with 32 seconds left from the Javelinas, the lead was down to four. Davis knocked in a free throw to make it a five point game. Gutierrez came up clutch yet again, this time earning a steal and then knocking down two free throws to seal the victory.
Liah Davis led the way with 23 points on the night and 16 of those came in the second half.
Kelsey Crouse added in 16 of her own, with nine of those coming in the second half.
Montse Gutierrez came away with 14 points, and exactly half of those came in the second half.
Gutierrez had a team-high six assists. Crouse added in an additional five of her own.
Davis led the way with a team-high nine rebounds. Crouse brought down six rebounds of her own.
Gutierrez also led the team with five steals in the contest.
As a team, the Patriots shot 52.7% from the floor, which is their third highest mark this season. UT Tyler used a monster performance inside the paint to their advantage, outscoring the Javelinas 42-24 in that area of the floor.
Coming up next for the Patriots will be their final home game of the three game homestand. They take on Texas Woman's at 5 p.m. Monday evening.
Following the conclusion of that game, the Patriots will head out on the road to take on Oklahoma Christian and UAFS. The game against the Eagles will be on Feb. 3 and is scheduled to tip off at 5:30. The game against the Lions is on Feb. 5 and is scheduled to tip at 2 p.m.
