TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball started fast, closed strong and used 21 points from Tina Machalova to notch win no. 8 in a row following a 67-59 victory over Southern Arkansas.
 
The win extends both the in-season winning streak and the 20-game home winning streak for the team, third longest in all of Division II women's basketball, and finishes up non-conference play for the program.
 
 UT Tyler jumped out to an 18-5 advantage in just over five minutes of gametime and then closed out the final 1:40 of the contest without allowing a point. Machalova scored 10 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and went 7-for-14 (50.0 percent) from the field to help the Patriots maintain their footing after Southern Arkansas recovered from their slow start.
 
The Muleriders answered what would end up being the largest lead of the game for the Patriots at that 18-5 mark with 4:35 remaining in the opening quarter by connecting on seven of their next eight shots from the field to cut the deficit to just 25-20 at the end of the opening frame. Southern Arkansas strung together another run of makes in the late stages of the second quarter to take a 36-35 advantage into the halftime break.
 
UT Tyler played their best defensive quarter coming out of the break in the third, limiting Southern Arkansas to just 10 points, and finished the quarter on a 13-4 run to jump back ahead 55-46. Machalova's first three points of the final frame extended the lead to 58-47 before the Muleriders once again drug themselves back into the game with a 12-6 run over the next six minutes of gametime.
 
That run made it a one-possession game at 61-59 with 1:40 remaining in the contest. Machalova answered by burying a key three-point make from the corner with 1:13 remaining and then joined in on a defensive effort for UT Tyler that forced three turnovers and didn't allow a shot attempt over the final 1:40 of play until a last-season heave at the buzzer that was fittingly swatted away by the Patriots.
 
UT Tyler forced 18 turnovers in the game and outrebounded the Muleriders by a 50-to-28 margin. The Patriots collected 21 offensive rebounds, matching a season high, and turned those second-chance opportunities into 17 points.
 
Junior Ella Bradley finished with 13 points to join Machalova in double-digit scoring figures, while junior Brooklyn Palmer recorded nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Palmer, Machalova (7), Montse Gutierrez (7) and Gabby Elliott (8) all finished the afternoon with seven-plus boards in what was a total-team effort on the glass.
 
The Patriots finished the afternoon 25-for-65 (38.5 percent) from the floor and 5-for-12 (23.8 percent) from the field.
 
UT Tyler will now turn their attention solely to Lone Star Conference play for the remainder of the season, beginning on Dec. 30^th with a battle of two of the top teams in the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots will travel to Denton, Texas to take on #5 Texas Woman's at 2 p.m. in what figures to be a key match-up in regards to the regular season LSC standings.