TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball will officially take the #2 seed into the LSC Tournament after coming up just short to #10 Texas Woman's on Senior Night in the HPC.
 
The Patriots honored Franzi Prinz, Meagan Mendazona, Frances King, and Tina Machalova for their incredible careers for the program while taking the team to new heights under head coach Rebecca Alvidrez.
 
In the first quarter of the night, the Patriots found a fire on the offensive side of the ball, closing the 10 minute frame with a lead of 17-10. In that frame, the Patriots went 7-for-16 as a team, shooting 43.8% from the floor and 42.9% from deep in their hot start. Mendazona celebrated her senior night in style, totaling 10 points in the frame as the Patriots looked dominant early.
 
In the second quarter, the two teams each traded free throws before scoring 17 total points in a time frame of just 2:55 to bring the score up to 25-23 with 5:30 left in the quarter. Two quick buckets from Brooklyn Palmer and Ella Bradley had the Patriots back up six, but the Pioneers cut it down to three with a triple.
 
A key moment came in the final minute of the half, as Palmer found the net on a jumper to put the Patriots up two, and then picked up a steal on the defensive side before Destini Whitehead cashed home the three pointer to put the Patriots up six heading into the locker room.
 
The third quarter began with both teams struggling to find an offensive rhythm over the first few minutes. The Pioneers began the quarter on a 7-0 run over the first 3:07 before Montse Gutierrez buried a three pointer to give the Patriots back the lead.
 
From there, the two teams were never separated by more than three points over the remainder of the period. The big moment came for the Pioneers though, as they closed the quarter on a 6-2 run to take a slim lead heading into the final quarter of action.
 
Both teams rattled off 11 total points over the first 2:19 of the quarter, as both sides found their stride on offense in a back and forth battle. The two teams again traded a pair of points seconds later, and Whitehead put the Patriots ahead at the 5:03 mark with a driving layup.
 
The Pioneers answered with a bigtime triple, and got another layup to fall to lead by three with 4:04 remaining.
 
At that point, the Patriots offense cooled off, as Bradley dropped in a free throw to cut the lead to two points with 2:09 remaining.
 
Again, the Pioneers had the clutch answers, dropping in a layup and a three pointer with just over a minute left to lead by seven and all but put the game away.
 
On the night, Meagan Mendazona had a team-high 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting. She added in two three pointers and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Additionally, she grabbed six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
 
Joining Mendazona in double figures was Brooklyn Palmer, who had 12 on the night. She also made a pair of three pointers while grabbing five rebounds.
 
Ella Bradley led the team with seven rebounds and five assists, while Frances King posted a team high four steals.
 
For the Patriots, they will now take the #2 seed into next weekend's Lone Star Conference Tournament held in Frisco, Texas. The Patriots finish the regular season at 24-7 overall and 18-4 in LSC play.
 
That number two seed ensures they will play at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8. There, the Patriots will look to make their third consecutive Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinals with a win in their first round contest.