TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler women's basketball took a dominant 73-50 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on their home floor on Thursday night in their penultimate game of the regular season.
 
The Patriots shot 46% as a team on Thursday night, their highest mark as a team in their last eight games. They also added on nine three pointers while posting a 29-20 bench points advantage and a 28-18 points in the paint advantage.
 
The Javelinas jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the game, but the Patriots offense replied with 15 straight points, including nine straight from Hayley Cumming to start the scoring for UT Tyler. Neal and Cumming then tacked on a three, giving them a 15-2 advantage. The Patriots would add one more layup from Edit Merivirta in the first quarter, taking a 17-10 lead into the second 10 minutes of play.
 
The Javelinas came out solid, starting the frame on a 7-2 run over the first 3:51 as they held the Patriots without a field goal. Neal would get open for a three pointer at the 5:37 mark, sparking a huge 16-2 run that featured 16 straight from UT Tyler to close the half. In that run, Neal knocked down eight points and a pair of threes while Leila Davis, Cumming, and Georgia Tomkins all added layups.
 
The third quarter was back and forth, with neither team going on a run larger than five points and were nearly even in the stat sheet. The Patriots outscored the Javelinas 19-18 in the frame, shooting 53.8% from the field and saw eight points from Davis as five different players entered the scoring column.
 
Those strong three first quarters from the Patriots built up a 17 point advantage heading into the fourth quarter, and the Patriots tacked it on on both sides of the ball. They held the Javelinas to just 33% from the field in that final period and forced them into five turnovers. On offense, they shot over 40% from the field as seven different players scored, including five points from Nikolina Vukcevic to lead the team as the Patriots built up their lead to 23 points at the final buzzer.
 
Hayley Cumming led all scorers with 19 points as she knocked down a trio of triples. She added four rebounds, two blocks, and three steals to an impressive stat line.
 
Leila Davis ripped off 15 points in her effort, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the line while dropping in a three pointer. She added four rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
 
Mariah Neal also scored in double figures, scoring 13 points with three three pointers, four rebounds, and a team-high five steals.
 
Polina Latysheva added a team-high seven assists, and Mileina Sablinskaite recorded a team-high five rebounds.
 
UT Tyler will close out their regular season on Saturday afternoon as they host Senior Night. They will honor Zionna Barbee, Mileina Sablinskaite, and Mariah Neal in a ceremony pregame. They will face off with Texas A&M International at 1 p.m. inside the HPC.