TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball extended their home win streak to 26 straight games behind a 17 point comeback win to steal a win away from St. Edward's by a score of 74-71.
 
The Patriots faced a 17 point deficit with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter, before outscoring the Hilltoppers 30-10 over the final 11 minutes of the game to pull off the win.
 
In the first quarter, it was the Hilltoppers who jumped out early and took control of the contest. They shot 46.7% as a team in the first frame, knocking down seven shots while climbing to a 16-12 lead. The Patriots shot 22.2% from the floor in the period, but saved themselves with a 7-for-8 effort from the free throw line to stay in it.
 
The Hilltoppers dropped in a layup to move their lead up to six to begin the second quarter, but the Patriots put together a 7-4 run that saw the first three points of the night from Tina Machalova.
 
That little run seemed to spark the Patriots, as they then ran out on an 11-5 run over just 2:40 of game time that saw them go a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor with Machalova and Mariah Neal combining for three three pointers. Neal and Machalova would continue their scoring threat, as Neal knocked in another three pointer and Machalova made a pair of free throws as the Patriots took a 36-34 lead heading into the half.
 
In the third quarter, St. Edward's kicked their offense into a new gear, as they shot a scorching 10-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-4 from deep on their way to 28 points and outscoring the Patriots by 17 points. That quarter was started with a 13-4 run in the Hilltoppers favor over the first 3:49 of play. Over the remainder of the period, the Hilltoppers held the Patriots to just two made shots, as Machalova tacked on six more points in that stretch.
 
Madyson Tate dropped in a free throw to cut the lead down to 16 points with 1:01 left in the third quarter, and Machalova dropped in her own pull up jumper as the Patriots headed to the final frame down 15 points.
 
To begin the final period of action, Machalova continued her tear, dropping in a three pointer for her 22^nd point of the day to cut the lead to 12. Just over a minute later, Neal dropped in a free throw while Destini Whitehead scored on a jumper and suddenly the lead was down to nine.
 
A 7-4 run in response from the Hilltoppers kept them back out in front by 12 points with 6:32 remaining, and that put the Patriots on the ropes.
 
From the 5:36 mark to the 3:19 mark of the final period, the Patriots again caught fire, running out on an 11-1 run to cut the lead down to just two thanks to five points from Ella Bradley, four from Machalova, and two more from Meagan Mendazona in a run that saw the Patriots shoot 3-for-4 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
The Hilltoppers would make a free throw to keep their lead at three, but Mendazona dropped in a pair of free throws with 1:30 remaining to bring the Patriots to within one. After a big time stop on defense, the Patriots drew up a play for Bradley, who answered the bell with a brilliant layup to give the Patriots the lead.
 
The Hilltoppers called timeout to move the ball up, but the Patriots forced the huge turnover to get the ball back. A jump ball came right out of the timeout from the Patriots, and they gave it back to the Hilltoppers with just eight seconds left. In the final seconds, the Hilltoppers again committed the turnover thanks to the Patriots staunch defense, and Mendazona would drop in the clinching free throws to secure the win.
 
In that final period, the Patriots shot 58.3% from the floor and went 12-for-13 from the free throw line to score 27 points. They held the Hilltoppers to just 2-for-10 shooting and 4-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
Tina Machalova finished as the game's leading scorer, dropping in 28 points on an efficient 66.7% shooting and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. She made seven free throws and grabbed five rebounds.
 
Ella Bradley grabbed a team high seven rebounds, while Meagan Mendazona dished out a team high five assists.
 
The Patriots will now hit the road for a two game road trip against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International.
 
The contest against the Javelinas is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on February 15 and the battle with the Dustdevils is scheduled for 1 p.m. on February 17.