AUSTIN, TEXAS – Frances King came away from Saturday's game with 10 points, but none mattered more than the final two as she caught an inbounds pass from Montse Gutierrez and shook her defender before making a mid-range jumper to put UT Tyler up two and win the contest.
 
The Patriots had four scorers reach double figures, and Tina Machalova led the way with 20 in her 28 minutes played. Her biggest shot of the night came with 29 seconds left, as she dropped in a three pointer to tie the game and keep the Patriots within striking distance before King nailed the game winner.
 
It was St. Edward's who took early control of the contest, starting the game on a 10-5 run over the first 4:02 of gametime. Lovisa Hevinder's second three of the night plus a jumper from Machalova tied the game, but the Hilltoppers would cling to a 20-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Both teams traded buckets over the first 2:06 of the second period, leading to a slim three point lead for St. Edward's. That's when UT Tyler made their move, exploding into a 15-2 run thanks to nine points from Machalova and two pointers from Gutierrez, Mariah Neal, and Meagan Mendazona. That ran the lead out to 10, and was extended to 13 by the end of the half.
 
The lead got as far as 15 points for the Patriots after a 1:35 of play in the third quarter, but the Hilltoppers would go on a 12-6 run to close out the quarter and cut the lead down to nine. In that run, the Hilltoppers defense held the Patriots scoreless for four minutes, and let the Patriots have just one bucket in six minutes total.
 
A quick three from St. Edward's cut the lead down to six, but the Patriots responded and held an eight point advantage with seven minutes to play thanks to a three from Neal and free throws from Machalova.
 
A pair of clutch and-ones from the Hilltoppers came at the 6:06 mark and the 4:36 mark. That dropped the lead down to just two points while the Patriots came up empty on the offensive end. A bigtime three pointer followed by a pair of free throws gave St. Edward's the two point lead with 1:45 left. Destini Whitehead came up big with a jumper to tie the game, but the Hilltoppers answered again with a three pointer.
 
That gave way for Machalova to knock down a three pointer, and the Patriots defense came up big yet again as they forced the Hilltoppers into a turnover so that they could have the ball in the closing seconds. King was able to drill a jumper in the final seconds and the Patriots defense shut down the St. Edward's heave at the buzzer to come away with the slim 71-69 victory.
 
Machalova led the way with 20 points, and Whitehead and Hevinder each had 14 points. King had 10, and Hevinder grabbed eight rebounds while Whitehead snagged a team-high four steals.
 
Next up for UT Tyler will be a return back to Tyler to host Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International in what will be two of their final three games of the season inside the Herrington Patriot Center.