DENTON, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball has been a master of the upset in the Rebecca Alvidrez era, and it was no different on Saturday afternoon as they knocked off the #5 ranked Texas Woman's Pioneers.
 
Under Alvidrez (since the 2021-2022 season), the Patriots have faced off with seven total opponents associated with the WBCA Top 25, and have come away with a record of 5-2. Three times the Patriots have squared off with a top five ranked team, and twice they have come away with the win.
 
Today's win over #5 Texas Woman's marks the first win over a top five ranked opponent since January 18, 2022, when the Patriots took down #4 Texas A&M-Commerce, which was coincidentally also on the road.
 
The game began with an administrative technical foul against Texas Woman's, and the Patriots took a 1-0 lead thanks to Lovisa Hevinder knocking in the free throw. That kicked off a spurt that saw both teams trade buckets over the opening minutes.
 
At the 6:54 mark of the quarter, Tina Machalova made her dramatic appearance by drilling the triple to give the Patriots an 8-4 advantage. That triple was in the beginnings of a 17-7 run to close out the quarter that saw Machalova herself knock in three consecutive three pointers as the Patriots closed out the quarter with a 21-11 lead.
 
For all of the offense of the first frame, the second period saw the exact opposite, as both teams struggled to score over the opening minutes. It took 5:14 for a team to break the seal on the basket, as Frances King knocked down the pull-up jumper. The Patriots would make just one other basket in the quarter, as Ella Bradley made a three pointer at the 41 second mark.
 
The Pioneers in the same stretch put together just nine points, but the last three came from the free throw line as they did not make a jump shot from the 2:12 mark onwards.
 
The Patriots shot 33.3% for the half, shooting just 14.3% in the second quarter after a 50% mark in the first quarter. The Pioneers were held to just 36.4% in the half, shooting just 25% in the second quarter after also shooting 50% in the first quarter.
 
Up just six when the second half began, Machalova again spurred on a key run as she and Lovisa Hevinder each knocked down three pointers to open the second half. Machalova continued with a layup, and then delivered a perfect pass to a driving Destini Whitehead for another layup and a 12 point lead with 5:50 remaining in the frame.
 
That lead grew to 14 with a pair of Machalova free throws at the 5:01 mark, and the Patriots would hold their lead to 12 points by end of the quarter. That run capped off an 18-12 advantage in the third frame, with the Patriots shooting a blistering 55.6% from the field and holding the Pioneers to just 26.7%.
 
Polina Latysheva led off the scoring with a three pointer in the final quarter of play, but the two teams would make just two total field goals over the first 4:30 of the quarter as the two teams found their way to the free throw line often.
 
A key moment came at the 5:30 mark as the Patriots lead had been cut down to 11 points and the Pioneers held the ball. Mariah Neal came through yet again with clutch defense, and picked the pocket of the Pioneers and completed the layup at the other end to bump the lead back to 13.
 
The lead again was cut down to just 10 points with 4:45 remaining thanks to Pioneers free throws, but Hevinder came through with a huge three pointer at the 4:18 mark of the game to continue to hold off the Pioneers yet again.
 
A 5-0 run from the Pioneers at the 2:20 mark brought them to within seven points, and at the 57 second mark they got another big layup from Ashley Ingram to cut the lead down to just five. Machalova would make just one free throw, but again the Pioneers knocked in a layup to cut the lead to four with 35 seconds left.
 
With 25 seconds left on the clock, the Pioneers missed a turnaround jumper and Machalova brought down the rebound. The Patriots broke the press on the miss, and Neal capped off the upset victory with a wide open layup to secure the 61-55 win.
 
The win makes the Patriots a perfect 5-0 in LSC play, giving them sole possession of first place in the LSC standings.
 
The Patriots trailed for just 24 seconds in the game, and held the lead for 39:36 of gametime. The Patriots forced the Pioneers into 18 turnovers, picking up nine steals in the process. They held a 19-5 advantage in points off turnovers and a 12-6 advantage in second chance points.
 
For the game, the Patriots shot 38% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc, while the Pioneers shot 37% and 32%.
 
Tina Machalova led the Patriots with 17 points on the night on 5-for-12 shooting and 4-for-7 from deep. She added in three rebounds and three assists.
 
Lovisa Hevinder filled up the stat sheet on her way to 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists on the day. Ella Bradley collected a team-high four steals, and Gabby Elliott snagged a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Next up for UT Tyler will be a two game homestand inside the friendly confines of the Herrington Patriot Center, as they host Oklahoma Christian and UAFS. The Eagles will come to Tyler on January 4^th at 5 p.m., while the Lions come to the HPC on January 6 at 1 p.m.