SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball kicked off their 2026 portion of the slate in winning fashion with a 45-42 win over Angelo State on Friday night inside the Junell Center – Stephens Arena in San Angelo.
 
UT Tyler forced the Rambelles into 28 total turnovers on the night, held them to just 31.1% from the floor and 27.6% from deep, and held them scoreless in a pivotal 5:18 stretch in the fourth quarter to hold onto the win.
 
The Patriots got off to a strong start, outscoring Angelo State 18-12 in the first quarter behind eight points from KK Bass, who knocked down a pair of three pointers. Nikolina Vukcevic came off the bench and added seven more points in five minutes, knocking down a triple of her own along with two free throws.
 
The two teams settled into a sluggish second quarter, scoring just 10 combined points with the Rambelles outscoring the Patriots 7-3. The teams combined to go 3-for-22 in the frame, with the Patriots making the only three pointer of the period as Polina Latysheva knocked one down.
 
The third quarter would see the offensive pace pick up slightly, with the two teams combining for nine made shots as the Rambelles outscored the Patriots 14-13 to cut the UT Tyler lead to just one point. Hayley Cumming and Mariah Neal each came up with a pair of huge three pointers in the closing minutes, with Neal's coming with just 35 seconds left in the frame to put the Patriots back in front.
 
The Patriots connected the dots in a clutch stretch from the 7:13 mark to the 4:11 mark in the fourth quarter, with Cumming and Leila Davis burying three pointers and Latysheva dropping in a jumper to go on an 8-0 run and expand the lead to seven. That run came in a stretch where the Patriots defense held Angelo State scoreless for 5:18 of gametime. The Rambelles fought back late, hitting a pair of three pointers and a free throw, including a triple with just 15 seconds left to cut the lead down to just one point.
 
However, the Patriots would be strong at the free throw line, with Latysheva going 3-for-4 in the final 21 seconds to keep the Patriots in front for good and pick up a third LSC win.
 
Latysheva led the Patriots with 11 points while adding four rebounds and five steals. Cumming added six points and 10 rebounds, and Bass added eight points with three rebounds and two steals.
 
UT Tyler will now head to Odessa, Texas to take on UT Permian Basin on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. inside the Falcon Dome.