Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (02.15.14) - The UT Dallas women's basketball team watched a 14-point second half lead fade away late in the game as the Comets fell, 62-61, to LeTourneau Saturday afternoon in American Southwest Conference play.
The Comets (now 18-5, 15-5 ASC) opened the second half strong, stretching a two-point halftime advantage to a 49-35 lead with 11:20 remaining as they looked to celebrate Senior Day with a victory. However, the visiting YellowJackets ralled over the next five minutes, outscoring UTD, 17-2, to grab a 52-51 lead with 5:16 left after an Ashley Stephens layup.
UTD regained the lead, 55-54, with 3:26 left on an
Amber Brown jumper, but LETU answered with a three-pointer by Ashley Reed and a free throw by Stephens to regain a three-point advantage, 58-55, with just over two minutes left to play. With 46 seconds remaining,
Jo'Anna Davis capped a quick 4-0 run by the Comets to give UTD back the lead, 59-58, on a jumper, but the YellowJackets once again answered, this time with a layup by Ashley Fajardo with 28 ticks left.
Davis drew a foul on the Comets next trip down the floor and put UTD up 61-60, with two free throws, but Fajardo scooped in a layup with four seconds left as the two teams traded leads four times in the final minute.
Davis finished with a game-high 17 points to lead four Comets in double digits. She was 5-for-15 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line, adding a team-high eight rebounds.
Morgan Kilgore finished with 15 points,
Ciara Guilhas had 11 points and
Christina Brosnahan added 10 points. Brown had eight points, seven rebounds and a team-best four assists.
UTD shot a season-low 35.7 percent from the field (20-of-56), hitting just 4-of-15 three-pointers (26.7%), and was 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the foul line. The Comets hit just 9-of-28 shots (32.1%) from the floor in the second half, hitting just 1-of-7 (14.3%) second-half three-point attempts. UTD out-rebounded the YellowJackets, 38-33.
The Comets came out of the gate slow, letting LETU grab an early 10-2 lead as UTD failed to record a field goal for the first 4:26 of the game. UTD secured its first lead of the game with 4:07 left in the first half as Davis' layup gave UTD a 23-21 advantage. After three lead changes over the next three minutes, the Comets got two free throws from Guilhas with 28 seconds left in the half to take a 31-29 lead, an advantage they would take to the locker room.
For LETU (9-13, 7-12 ASC), Fajardo and Jessica Manas each finished with 13 points as the only YellowJackets in double figures. LETU shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field, hitting 4-of-10Â three-pointers (40%), and was 6-of-10 (60%) from the free-throw line.
UTD closes out the regular season next week with a pair of road games. The Comets return to action Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Concordia Texas in Austin.
