TYLER, TEXAS – (RV) UT Tyler women's basketball used an offensive onslaught to take down UAFS 70-60 to move to 7-0 in LSC play and extend both their regular season winning streak to 11 and their home winning streak to 22.
 
The Patriots now own the second longest active home winning streak in all of Division II, trailing only Catawba at 26 games. The Patriots 11 game win streak continues the longest of the Division II era and is the longest since the 2015-2016 season.
 
In the contest, the Patriots made 15 total three pointer's, their most in the Division II era, and shot their second best three point percentage of the season at 46.9%.
 
The two teams opened up with a battle that went all the way to 9-9 as neither side gave an early edge on defense. The two teams combined for just 7-for-20 from the field over those first seven minutes, and Meagan Mendazona picked up five early points to lead the way.
 
Despite the slow start, the offense picked up quickly to the tune of a 7-1 run to close out the quarter including a buzzer beating three pointer from Tina Machalova to make it 16-10 after one.
 
That single three pointer from Machalova created an avalanche, as the Patriots drilled seven three pointers in the second quarter alone. Montse Gutierrez led the way with three triples of her own in the period, while Mariah Neal added two and both Destini Whitehead and Machalova each made one. For the quarter, the Patriots made eight total shots, with seven coming from beyond the arc as they outscored the Lions 24-11.
 
With the big 19 point lead at the break, the Patriots looked to continue their offensive pressure, and they did just that by scoring 19 more points in the third behind 6-for-13 shooting and four more made three pointers. The big run came at the 5:05 mark, as Neal scored eight of the Patriots 10 points in the stretch with a pair of three pointers and a layup to keep the Patriots comfortably ahead heading into the final period.
 
To begin the final quarter, UAFS jumped out on an 8-0 run spurred by six made free throws to cut the lead down to just 15 with 7:23 remaining. Mariah Neal would answer the bell yet again, knocking down yet another triple to put the Patriots back up 18 points with 6:13 left.
 
Another 7-0 run from the Lions cut the lead down to just 11, but again a big triple found its way into the net as Destini Whitehead called her own number on a big shot with 3:24 remaining.
 
That shot from Whitehead seemed to take the air out of the Lions attempt at a comeback, as they were unable to close the gap further than 10 over the final moments as the Patriots continued to make their free throws down the stretch and hang on to the double digit win.
 
For the game, Mariah Neal led all scorers with a career-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and five made three pointers. She added in three rebounds and a block for the contest.
 
Gutierrez, Mendazona, and Whitehead each joined Neal in double figures with 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively. Both Gutierrez and Mendazona grabbed seven rebounds, while Mendazona packed the stat sheet with four assists, a block, and a pair of steals.
 
Ella Bradley collected a career-high 10 points, and she also dished out four assists to go with a block and a steal.
 
As a team, the Patriots held the lead for 35:03 of gametime, and also held the advantage in rebounds, assists, and blocks. They held the Lions to just 34% from the floor and 38.1% from deep while forcing them into 16 turnovers.
 
Next up for (RV) UT Tyler will be a trip down south as they take on St. Edward's and St. Mary's in LSC play. January 11^th will see the Patriots battle with the Hilltoppers at 5:30 p.m., while January 13^th will see the Patriots and Rattlers square off at 1 p.m.