TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball got hot early in the ballgame and outlasted a late rally from the Lions to win by a score of 63-53 inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
 
It was all UT Tyler in the early going, as they ran out to a 14-0 run over the first 5:47 of gametime. In that run, the Patriots went 6-10 as a team and 2-3 from deep as five different players got into the scoring category. Nine of those 14 points came within the first 2:31 of the game as the Patriots capitalized on the Lions misses.
 
All seven of the first quarter points from UAFS came in a 7-3 stretch from the 3:27 mark to the 1:59 mark, but Destini Whitehead would give the Patriots a 12 point lead heading into the second frame with a pull up jumper with just 58 seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
Lauren Cortinas opened up the scoring in the second quarter with three made three pointers, and that sparked a 21-7 stretch over 6:20 of gametime for UT Tyler to run the lead out to 26 points. Six different Patriots got their name in the scoring column, including six from Tina Machalova and five from Frances King. The stout Patriots defense forced the Lions to go 2-11 in that stretch and 2-8 from beyond the arc.
 
Six late points from UAFS would cut the lead down to 20 at the half, and that seemed to get the wheels turning for the Lions. A 12-8 run would cut the lead down to 16 points, but the Patriots had another answer. This time that came in the form of a 8-4 run to close the third quarter including a beautiful set play that allowed Franzi Prinz to bury a three pointer just before the buzzer.
 
Both teams traded buckets in the early part of the fourth quarter, and Machalova scored four points over the first three minutes to keep the Lions at bay. However, UAFS got defensive and forced the Patriots into a cold spell over the final seven minutes. In that run, the Lions ripped off a 12-0 run over just 2:20 of gametime to cut the lead all the way down to seven points with 39 seconds left. The big lead that the Patriots had would be just enough, as Machalova and Hevinder were able to knock down free throws to give UT Tyler a 10 point victory.
 
Tina Machalova led the Patriots with 13 points while chipping in three rebounds. King added in 12 points and five rebounds to go along with five assists. Whitehead would also enter into double figures, scoring 10 points and adding three rebounds.
 
For UT Tyler, they will now take on Oklahoma Christian on Saturday afternoon. That game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff inside the Herrington Patriot Center.