DENTON, TEXAS – #4/6 UT Tyler women's basketball fell by a final score of 71-61 on the road to #1 Texas Woman's on Thursday night in a tight fought LSC contest.
 
Polina Latysheva scored 19 points in the contest on 8-for-13 shooting and added seven rebounds and four assists. Ella Bradley scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting while adding four made three pointers, four rebounds, and three assists.
 
The two teams came battling out of the gate, with each team trading buckets in the early moments. The Pioneers took a 9-5 lead with 6:20 remaining, but the Patriots closed the period on a 9-3 run that featured a three pointer from Milena Sablinskaite and four points from Meagan Mendazona as she closed the frame with a tough turnaround bucket.
 
In the second quarter, the Patriots outscored the Pioneers 18-13 on their way to a 32-25 halftime lead. Ella Bradley caught fire in the frame, scoring 11 points while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from deep. The Patriots shot 70% as a team in the period and held the Pioneers to just 28.6%.
 
The Pioneers began to slowly close the gap in the third, grinding their way back into the game as they outscored the Patriots 21-18. The Patriots shot a blistering 63% in the frame and made four more three pointers, but the key run came in the final three minutes of the period, as the Pioneers went on an 11-7 run to cut the gap to just four as both teams headed to the fourth quarter.
 
In that final frame the Pioneers slowly chipped away at the lead in the opening minutes but a pair of Latysheva jumpers and a Bradley layup kept the Patriots in front. The Pioneers stayed close, and a layup with 3:29 left in the contest ultimately gave them the lead.
 
Down the stretch, the Patriots added another tough bucket from Mendazona, but the Pioneeers were able to convert from the charity stripe to hold on for the win.
 
Meagan Mendazona added 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting while adding three rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal.
 
UT Tyler will now look ahead to next week's Lone Star Conference Tournament at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The women's tournament will begin on Thursday with four quarterfinal matchups, before the semifinal games on Saturday and the championship game on Sunday.