FRISCO, TEXAS – UT Tyler and West Texas A&M went back and forth all game long before a late run from the Patriots gave them everything they needed to take a 58-54 win and move into the Lone Star Conference Tournament Semifinals.
The Patriots will make their third consecutive semifinals appearance after a dramatic win over West Texas A&M on Friday afternoon. For the second straight year, the Patriots were the team to take down the Lady Buffs in the LSC quarterfinals.
The Lady Buffs took the early advantage, as they led 16-11 after the first quarter of play. The Patriots shot just 33.3% in the first quarter as five different players put up at least two points in the period.
In the second quarter, the Patriots turned up the defense, holding West Texas A&M to just 33% from the floor and 0% from deep as they cut the lead down to just two points at the halftime break.
The key moment in the quarter came with 3:43 left, as
Tina Machalova buried a triple and then
Meagan Mendazona dropped in the and-one to give the Patriots the lead.
The third quarter saw both teams battle their way through tough defense, as the Lady Buffs ended the period with a four point advantage. Neither team shot better than 31% in the period, and the two teams combined for just four three pointers over the quarter.
In the fourth and final quarter, the Patriots got the early spark, led by
Frances King off the bench. She assisted
Brooklyn Palmer on a three pointer to start, and then she dropped in a layup and two free throws before Palmer dropped in another layup. King would make another pair of free throws just over a minute later, capping off a huge 11-3 run to open up the quarter over the first 4:13 to give the Patriots a four point advantage.
The two teams traded big buckets, as King again came up with the clutch jumper to keep the Patriots up four. An and-one from the Lady Buffs cut the lead to just one, but
Tina Machalova answered with a layup of her own to keep the Patriots in front.
Down the stretch, the Patriots got another key layup from King as their defense continued to shine. In the final minute of action, the Patriots held the Lady Buffs to just two points as
Destini Whitehead cashed all of the clutch free throws to keep the Patriots out in front and seal the win.
The big story of the fourth quarter was the Patriots defense, as they held the Lady Buffs without a field goal for the final 4:35 of the contest. In that quarter alone, the Patriots held the Lady Buffs to just 17.6% shooting and 20% from beyond the arc. For the whole second half, the Patriots held West Texas A&M to just 25% from the floor and 12.5% from beyond the arc.
The Patriots were led in scoring by
Frances King, who dropped in 10 points, all in the fourth quarter. She went 3-for-6 for the contest and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and also grabbed five rebounds. All but one player for the Patriots who entered scored.
Gabby Elliott grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in the game, and
Mariah Neal led the Patriots with three steals.
UT Tyler now will look ahead to Saturday in Frisco, as they will take on UT Permian Basin in the LSC Semifinal round. The Patriots are looking for their first ever LSC Championship Game berth. That contest is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff inside the Comerica Center.
