Match Info	Opponent Info
No. 2 seed West Texas A&M vs. No. 7 seed UT Tyler WTAMU: 28-4, 18-2 LSC | UTT: 21-10, 16-4 LSC Friday, Mar. 13th | 2:30 p.m. Denton, Texas | Kitty Magee Arena		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

THE NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
 
UT Tyler will participate in their fourth straight NCAA Tournament after another brilliant season under head coach Rebecca Alvidrez. The Patriots currently stand at 21-11 overall, and made the LSC Tournament semifinals last weekend for the fourth time over the last five seasons.
 
The Patriots take the No. 7 seed into the tournament and will face off with No. 2 seed West Texas A&M in the round of 64. That matchup will be a rematch from last Saturday's LSC semifinals, where the Lady Buffs took a narrow 67-61 win over the Patriots.
 
The tournament is hosted by No. 1 seed Texas Woman's and will be inside Kitty Magee Arena in Denton, Texas. The Patriots will play at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, with the winner advancing into the round of 32 on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
The winner of Friday's matchup will face off with the winner between No. 3 seed Colorado Mesa and No. 6 seed Lubbock Christian.
 
The official Tournament Central page can be found HERE.
 
HISTORY AT THE NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
 
UT Tyler in their three previous trips to the NCAA Tournament have won at least two games twice, with last season being the only year they failed to win a contest as they fell to No. 6 seed West Texas A&M in the opening round.
 
In 2023, the Patriots ran through the regional tournament, taking down Colorado School of Mines, Angelo State, and Lubbock Christian on their way to the Elite Eight for the first time in the Division II era of the program.
 
In 2024, the Patriots had another strong run, defeating Regis and Colorado Mesa in the opening two rounds to book their spot in the Sweet 16. The Patriots would ultimately come up just short to Texas Woman's.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
 
The Patriots garnered six total honors at the season-ending banquet on Wednesday night. Mariah Neal, a senior from Nacogdoches, Texas, was named the LSC Sixth Woman of the Year, becoming the second Patriot to ever earn the honor.
 
Leila Davis and Polina Latysheva each found spots on the All-LSC Second Team, and Hayley Cumming was named All-LSC Honorable Mention. Davis and Cumming also picked up nods on the All-Freshman team, becoming the first Patriots pair to be named to the All-Freshman team in the same season.
 
PATRIOTS NOTES AND TRENDS

• UT Tyler finished the 2024-25 season 25-5 overall and made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance before bowing out in the first round.
• Last season the Patriots finished 13-1 on their home floor, raising their mark to 61-8 under head coach Rebecca Alvidrez inside the Herrington Patriot Center prior to the 2025-26 season.
• In the last four seasons (including 2024-25), the Patriots are a combined 31-13 in non-conference matchups, including a 12-3 record at home in non-conference games.
• Head Coach Rebecca Alvidrez is now 126-60 all time in her four season career, and she is 117-41 in her time at UT Tyler.
• Coach Alvidrez won her 100^th career game on January 30^th, 2025 as the Patriots took down Cameron. It took just 148 games for Alvidrez to reach the milestone, and she is now in her fifth season as a head coach.
• Alvidrez won her 100^th game at UT Tyler on November 14^th, 2025 as the Patriots took down CSU Pueblo. She took 133 games to reach the feat and is the winningest coach in UT Tyler program history.
• The Patriots will bring back just five players, including All-LSC Honorable Mention player Polina Latysheva, along with Mileina Sablinskaite, Mariah Neal, KK Bass, and Zionna Barbee.
• Joining the Patriots will be freshman newcomers Leila Davis, Hayley Cumming, Mackenzie Mitchell, Georgia Tomkins, Edit Merivirta, Avery Alcaraz, Jorja Hart, and Salome Svani. The transfer class includes Lilli Hakkarainen and Nikolina Vukcevic as they all look to make a big impact on the Patriots this season.
• The Patriots are 21-10 through 31 games and finished the year 16-4 in LSC play. They are scoring 60.4 points per game on 39% shooting and 29.2% from beyond the arc. They are holding opponents to just 52.5 points per game on 36.4% shooting and 28.4% from deep.
• That staunch defense is one of the best in Division II, ranking 7^th in scoring defense, 20^th in steals per game, 13^th in turnover margin, and 30^th in turnovers forced per game.
• Leila Davis leads the team at 12.5 points per game on 50.2% shooting. She is grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game and is adding 48 assists, 43 steals, and 12 blocks. Polina Latysheva is averaging 10.2 points per game while posting 106 assists and 73 steals.
• Latysheva's 73 steals, Mileina Sablinskaite's 70 steals, and Mariah Neal's 64 steals rank 2nd, 3^rd, and 4^th in the Lone Star Conference, and they rank 49^th, 58^th, and 83^rd nationally.

 
THE LADY BUFFS


West Texas A&M is 28-4 on the season and went 18-2 in LSC play. Most recently they finished as runner-up in the LSC Tournament after falling to Texas Woman's in the final.
 
They are scoring 74.3 points per game on 43.5% shooting and 33% from beyond the arc. Their opponents are scoring 59.8 points per game on 36.7% shooting and 28.4% from beyond the arc. Kyla Kane is leading the scoring at 12.4 points per game on 38.6% shooting while adding 4.6 rebounds, 37 assists, and 24 steals.
 
UT Tyler is 4-6 all time against the Lady Buffs, now having lost their last three matchups. In neutral site games, the two teams are an even 2-2, with the Lady Buffs winning the only matchup in the NCAA Tournament between the two teams.