EDMOND, OKLAHOMA - #14/18 UT Tyler women's basketball put together a dominant effort on defense and scored 42 second half points to lead themselves to a 70-50 victory over Oklahoma Christian on Friday night.
 
UT Tyler held Oklahoma Christian to just 33% from the floor and 7% from beyond the arc on their way to a 20 point win. The Patriots also held a 31-24 advantage in total rebounds and a 44-24 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Polina Latysheva scored 20 points to lead all scorers on 8-for-11 shooting and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Lovisa Hevinder added in 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc while adding a team-high six rebounds.
 
The Patriots raced out to a 10-2 lead over the first 5:02 of the game as Latysheva dropped in three layups to open up her night. However, the Patriots would go cold over the remainder of the period as Oklahoma Christian closed the gap to 10-8.
 
In the second quarter, the Patriots outscored the Eagles 18-15 as Latysheva connected on a pair of three pointers as part of nine points by herself alone. Mariah Neal added in five points as she dropped in a pair of layups to help the Patriots go up five by the end of the first half.
 
The third quarter is when the Patriots began to hit their stride, as they outscored the Eagles 20-11 and held them to just 30% from the floor while shooting a blistering 61.5% themselves. Lovisa Hevinder scored eight points in the period, with both of her three pointers as part of a 10-3 run over just 1:41 of gametime.
 
In the final period of the night, Hevinder kept up the hot shooting, scoring seven points over the first 2:45 of the fourth quarter to help push the Patriots to a 21 point lead. Latysheva would bury her final three pointer of the night at the 6:31 mark of the quarter to make it a 24 point lead, their largest of the contest.
 
Down the stretch, Enisa Kamerolli scored four points while Tianna Knighton dropped in a pair of free throws to close out the night as the Patriots took a dominant win on the road.
 
With the win, the Patriots move to 10-2 on the season and 5-1 in LSC play. They have now won their last four LSC contests and five of their last six overall.
 
#14/18 UT Tyler now will face Cameron on Sunday at 1 p.m. on the road in Lawton, Oklahoma.