LANGLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA – The #7 ranked University of Texas at Tyler women's basketball team took care of business on Friday morning with a 64-50 win over host Simon Fraser in the opening contest of the CCA Division II Canadian Tip Off Classic.
 
Tina Machalova led all scorers with 19 points on the night while Montse Gutierrez chipped in 12 of her own with four three pointers made as the Patriots shot 42.1% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc for the game.
 
Simon Fraser would get the opening basket of the game, but Lovisa Hevinder quickly answered with her own layup and Meagan Mendazona dropped in a jumper to give the Patriots the lead with 5:51 left in the first quarter. The Patriots would never give back the lead for the remainder of the contest as they rolled out to a 14-6 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
 
The Patriots defense held the Red Leafs to just 5-24 in the first half while forcing 13 turnovers. The big run in that first 20 minutes came in the second quarter, as the Patriots held the Red Leafs to just four total points in 6:41 of gametime while posting 14 points of their own during the same stretch.
 
The big moment came at the 7:33 mark of the second quarter, as Brooklyn Palmer knocked down the first of three straight threes for the Patriots offense along with Gutierrez and Hevinder.
 
#7 UT Tyler held the Red Leafs to just six points in the first quarter and nine points in the second while allowing them to shoot just 20.8% over the first 20 minutes.
 
The second half began with a 15 point lead for the Patriots, and they stretched it out as far as 22 points thanks to a 22-15 run in the third quarter. In that stretch alone, Machalova and Gutierrez combined for 14 of those 22 points to help build the big lead. In the third quarter alone, the Patriots shot 60% from the floor and 33.3% from deep.
 
Simon Fraser refused to go away, as they battled their way back to a 10 point deficit with just 5:06 to play in the game. That lead was cut down to eight points with 2:40 remaining, but the trusty Machalova again answered the bell with a pair of clutch layups to keep the Red Leafs comeback efforts at bay.
 
For the game, the Patriots forced 23 turnovers and snagged 10 total steals while turning those into 20 total points.
 
UT Tyler held a huge advantage in points in the paint at 30-18, and also posted two more fast break points and two more bench points than the Red Leafs.
 
The Patriots will now reset for tomorrow's action as they take on Alaska Fairbanks at 12 p.m. CST back inside the Langley Events Center.