SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball moved to 25-2 overall and 20-1 in LSC play with a 70-63 win over Angelo State on Saturday afternoon.
The Patriots shot 41% from the field and added 10 three pointers on the day while adding 12 total steals and holding the Rambelles to just five made threes.
Meagan Mendazona,
Ella Bradley,
Polina Latysheva, and
Tianna Knighton each scored in double figures and combined for nine of the 10 made three pointers in the contest for the Patriots.
The Patriots got off to a quick start, scoring 17 points in the first quarter and making three triples. Mendazona scored seven points in the period while making both field goal attempts and both free throw attempts, and Latysheva added in six behind a pair of three pointers to help the Patriots to a 17-14 lead.
That lead expanded to 17 points by the halftime break as the Patriots poured in 28 points in the second quarter. Six different Patriots recorded a point, led by Knighton who went a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to grab nine points. In total, the Patriots shot 62.5% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc in the 10 minute frame.
In the third quarter however, the Rambelles went on a charge, battling back with an 18-8 frame that saw them cut the lead back to seven. The Patriots mustered just eight points in the quarter on 21.4% shooting, by far their lowest of the night.
A 6-2 run began the fourth quarter as the Patriots took their lead out to 11 as Bradley and Latysheva combined for the six points. The Rambelles had the answer though, responding with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to four points with 4:57 remaining.
Down the stretch, the Patriots defense put on the clamps, holding the Rambelles to just 2-for-8 from the field and 0-for-4 on their last four attempts. That allowed the Patriots to head to the foul line to ensure the win, and they converted five of their six attempts in the final minute.
Meagan Mendazona scored 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting and added five made free throws.
Ella Bradley scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting and added four made free throws while also recording four assists, two blocks, and one steal. Latysheva scored 13 points while also adding four steals and three assists.
UT Tyler will now have one more contest in their regular season, taking on #1 Texas Woman's on the road in Denton. That contest comes on Thursday at 6 p.m. and will be a high stakes affair yet again. The winner of that contest will claim at least a share of the Lone Star Conference Regular Season title, and that would double as the first in program history for the Patriots.
