TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball didn't bring their best stuff on the offensive end but played one of their best games of the season on defense to hold of St. Mary's by a final score of 42-40.
 
Neither team got it going well on the offensive side, as both teams shot well under their season averages from the field. The main difference in the contest was the stout Patriots defense coming up clutch, holding the Rattlers to just 28.8% from the field and 15.8% from beyond the arc.
 
Both teams traded buckets in the first few minutes, but Victoria Ikenasio and Lovisa Hevinder managed to put the Patriots up 5-3 early on. A Gabby Elliott jumper at the 5:30 mark would be the only bucket for either side as part of a stretch of 5:40 of game time. The offenses would catch back up in the closing stages of the first quarter, as Destini Whitehead and Ella Bradley scratched out five points for the Patriots to take the lead, but with no time left, Briley Perkins for the Rattlers would launch up a three pointer that found the net to give them an 11-10 advantage.
 
A quick spurt of offense from both sides in the first 3:03 of the second quarter saw the game stretch out to 16-15 for the Rattlers. A 6-2 run would ensue for St. Mary's, making it a five point lead with 2:55 remaining. However, the Patriots dug deep, going on a 7-2 run to end the quarter that saw Frances King and Montse Gutierrez each contribute two points, and Whitehead knock down a three pointer with just 12 seconds left to build momentum heading into halftime.
 
That run would end up being 17-5 in the Patriots favor, as they kept on rolling to begin the third quarter. Another clutch three pointer from Hevinder, and points from King, Whitehead, Gutierrez and Meagan Mendazona stretched the lead out to seven and the largest lead of the game for either side.
 
That third quarter was a big swing in momentum, as the Patriots shot 40% as a team and went 5-6 from the charity stripe. They would hold the Rattlers to just 2-11 from the floor and 1-5 from the line as they mustered up just five points over the 10 minutes.
 
Despite all of that momentum for UT Tyler, the fourth quarter saw both defenses ramp up the pressure. It took nearly four minutes for a team to score, and both teams finally broke the drought with free throws. St. Mary's cut the lead down to just four with 3:53 to go, and followed that jumper with a free throw at 2:08 to cut the lead to three.
 
A big steal from Gutierrez led to a timeout for the Patriots, and head coach Rebecca Alvidrez drew up a play to get Hevinder an open look and she buried it to put the Patriots back up six. The Rattlers would respond with a jumper and King made a free throw to push it back to five, but St. Mary's refused to go away, knocking in a layup and a falling-away three pointer with just three seconds left. The quick foul led to free throws for the Patriots, but they did not convert, allowing a half court heave that fell just short for the Rattlers and a close win for UT Tyler.
 
Lovisa Hevinder and Destini Whitehead scored 11 and 10 points respectively to lead the team. Gutierrez and Bradley each snagged a team-high seven rebounds and King chipped in two assists.
 
The Patriots now get a chance to regroup over the next couple of days before hopping on the bus for a long road trip to Laredo, Texas to take on Texas A&M International. That contest is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff on Thursday night, and will be followed by a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday against Texas A&M-Kingsville.