RICHARDSON, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball took a 57-53 win over UT Dallas to move to 18-9 on the year and 14-4 in LSC play on Thursday night.
 
The Patriots snapped a six game losing streak to the Comets with the win in what was their first matchup since both teams were a part of the American Southwest Conference back in 2019.
 
Freshman Hayley Cumming dropped in 16 points, including four in the final 28 seconds to lead the Patriots to the win. Mileina Sablinskaite added in 12 points to join her in double figures.
 
The Patriots got out to another slow start in the first quarter, shooting just 25 percent from the floor as they made only four shots. The Comets took the early advantage, leading 15-9 after the first quarter as they built on an early 8-2 run to begin the game.
 
The second quarter flipped the Patriots script, with them shooting a blistering 53.8% and making a trio of three pointers. The big run came with 6:25 remaining in the period as Leila Davis dropped in a layup followed by a Sablinskaite three pointer. That sparked a 12-4 run from the Patriots, all from that duo, capped off by a second three pointer from Sablinskaite as they took the lead for the first time with 3:53 left. The Comets would answer with their own 4-0 run to close the half, taking a slim two point lead to the locker room.
 
UT Tyler opened up the third quarter with another strong run, going on a 10-5 stretch over the first 2:45 as five different players recorded two points to help them take a three point lead. That run would continue on, with UT Tyler keeping the offense going as they closed the final 5:51 of the period on a 10-4 run as Cumming dropped in five points while Lilli Hakkarainen added three and Sablinskaite added two more. That run would give the Patriots a six point advantage heading into the final frame of the night.
 
UT Dallas would make the only shot over the first 3:25 of the fourth quarter before Polina Latysheva dropped in a floater and a layup to expand the lead to seven with 5:53 left. The Patriots offense however, would go cold in the middle part of the period as the Comets went on a 9-1 run, taking the lead on a three pointer with 2:11 remaining.
 
They would add a free throw with 1:10 left to make it a two point game, and a Patriots turnover would give them the ball back inside a minute. Mariah Neal answered the call, getting a critical steal and driving her way to the basket before a foul put her on the line. She buried both, tying the game with 49 seconds left.
 
Neal came up big yet again on defense on the next possession, blocking a go-ahead layup attempt from the Comets before Sablinskaite grabbed the rebound. She would start the fastbreak on that board, throwing it up court before it found Cumming driving down from the right side to drop in a reverse layup and put the Patriots up two. The Comets would miss a three pointer to take the lead, and the Patriots secured the rebound and allowed Cumming to take the final two free throws to put them up four and ice the contest.
 
Cumming went 5-for-6 from the free throw line and added three assists, a block, and a steal. Sablinskaite recored a team-high eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.
 
UT Tyler will now look ahead to their final weekend of the regular season as they host Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. The Javelinas will play on February 26^th at 5:30 p.m.. The Dustdevils will play on February 28^th at 1 p.m. in what will double as Senior Day inside the HPC.