RICHARDSON, TX (12.22.14) - Micaela Gonzalez' layup as time expired in the second overtime period Monday afternoon gave the UT Dallas women's basketball team an 81-79 double overtime win over Howard Payne in American Southwest Conference play.

After giving up leads in both regulation and the first overtime period, the Comets (8-1, 5-1 ASC) fell behind 79-76 with just 1:01 remaining in the second overtime period, but tied the score moments later on an off-balance three-point shot from Madi Hess. After HPU (6-2, 3-1 ASC) missed a chance to retake the lead with :27 left, Hess grabbed the rebound and HPU never got another chance.

Hess missed a potential game-winning three with :04 left, but Ashley Shaw tied up the rebound and the Comets kept the ball on the possession arrow. Hess then had the inbound opportunity with 0.6 left and found Gonzalez, who hopped up for the ball and immediately layed it off the backboard for the game-winner as time expired.

Hess led the Comets with 18 points, hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers to go along with eight rebounds. Ashley Shaw was a force inside with 14 points and five boards. Iemah Wallace-Perry scored 11 points while Christina Brosnohan added nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
 

The victory was sweet redemption for the Comets, who had let a chance for victory slip through their hands in regulation, and again in the first overtime period. UTD saw a 17-point (59-42) lead evaporate in the final 4:21 of the second half as the Lady Jackets took advantage of missed shots and turnovers to tie up the score 60-60 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from guard Danyel Bradley, who scored 11 of her team-high 35 points in the final flurry.

The Comets then again took control in the first overtime period, building as much as a five-point (66-61) lead at the 3:19 mark. UTD again had a lead with :07 left, but Bradley was fouled on an inbound pass and sank two free throws to send the game into another five-minute stretch.

UTD looked early like it might be in for a long afternoon. Bradley and 6-foot-2 center Kalin Hanna (younger sister of Dallas Cowboys' tight end John Hanna) led an early barrage that put the Lady Jackets up 13-4 five minutes into the game. After trailing 15-6 at the 14:07 mark, the Comets chipped away with a 14-5 scoring run and took their first lead of the game (20-19) on another Hess three-pointer with 8:32 remaining. Before halftime, the Comets continued to roll and had as much as a seven-point advantage (27-20 at 2:19) before taking a 27-22 score into the dressing room.

UTD again came out clicking on all cyclinders to start the second half. By 12:45, a Gonzalez layup gave UTD a double-digit lead (39-29), which they stretched to 18 points (55-37) on a Wallace-Perry fast-break layup with 6:34 remaining. After a Hess layup made it 59-42 with 4:36 remaining, UTD did not score from the field again and HPU was able to force the game into the dramatic overtime finish.

UTD is off for a week now for Christmas Break and returns to the court on Jan. 1 in Sherman for a non-conference game with Austin College. The Comets return to their home court on Saturday, Jan. 3 for another non-conference matchup against Trinity University.