PUEBLO, COLORADO – #20 UT Tyler women's basketball moved to 2-4 on the year and 1-1 at the South Central Region Challenge after falling 53-39 to Colorado Christian on Sunday.
The Patriots couldn't find their rhythm offensively, shooting just 21.4% from the field and 4-for-37 from deep.
Leila Davis was the lone Patriots scorer with over six points, as she scored 13 while going 3-for-6 fro the field and chipping in 10 rebounds as she recorded her first UT Tyler double-double.
The offensive woes were evident from the start, as the Patriots went 1-for-13 in the first quarter while the Cougars caught fire, taking a 16-3 lead after the first 10 minutes. The second quarter would see an improvement, with UT Tyler scoring 11 points as
Lilli Hakkarainen, Davis, and
Mariah Neal combined for each point in the frame. However, the Cougars stayed hot, shooting 60% in the second quarter with 20 points to show for it as they extended their lead out to 22 points.
Hayley Cumming would knock down a triple with 7:44 left in the third quarter, finally bringing a spark to the offense that desperately needed it as they outscored Colorado Christian 17-10 in the quarter.
Nikolina Vukcevic scored on a jumper, and three different Patriots converted at the free throw line as the lead slowly trickled down. Davis would bury a triple of her own with 2:59 left in the quarter, and
Edit Merivirta scored a layup before two Cougars free throws kept the lead at 15 heading into the fourth.
A 6-0 run that turned into an 8-2 run over the first 4:32 of the fourth quarter would cut the lead down to single digits as
Polina Latysheva, Neal, and Davis got things going. That bucket at the 5:28 mark of the quarter would be the final point of the game for UT Tyler, as the offensive woes struck again as they went 0-for-7 to end the game.
Davis's double double led the charge, and both Laytsheva and Hakkarainen each scored six points while combining for 12 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
UT Tyler will be back in action on Friday morning as they host Jarvis Christian for Elementary School Day inside the HPC. That game will tip-off at 11:30 a.m. on November 21.
