Box Score TYLER, TX (03.01.14) - The UT Dallas women's basketball team saw its quest for a back-to-back American Southwest Conference championship come to an end Saturday afternoon after a 102-79 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor in the semifinals of the ASC Tournament, hosted by The University of Texas at Tyler.
The Comets (now 21-6) shot a season-low 35.4 percent from the field and were out-rebouned by UMHB, 42-30, en route to a early exit from the tournament after entering as the event's No. 2 seed. UTD was playing in its fourth straight ASC Tournament semifinals and tied a school record with 21 wins this season.
An early 18-4 cold spell by the Comets in the first 8:34 of the game, though, was too much to overcome as UTD played catchup the entire game. In that opening eight-minute frame, the Comets converted on just two inside baskets from
Kimmie Grimes while turning the ball over five times and coming up empty on four other possession. Each time, Mary Hardin-Baylor (18-9) was there for a defensive rebound and raced down to the other end of the court to score.
Junior
Jo'Anna Davis led UTD with 22 points, going 10-for-10 from the foul line, while
Morgan Kilgore added 16 points and
Christina Brosnahan scored 15 points to round out the Comets in double digits. Grimes led UTD with nine rebounds.
The Cru dominated under the boards, scoring 40 of its points in the paint and 30 points on second-chance baskets. The Cru connected on 55.8 percent of its shots from the field, and also enjoyed an advantage at the free throw line. UMHB connected on 41-of-48 free throws off 38 UTD fouls as four players (Kilgore, Brosnahan, Davis and
Sarah Wisor) fouled out. UTD did connect on 26-of-30 free throws.
By the end of the first half, the Cru had built as much as a 17-point lead three times before the Comets used a 12-5 run that included seven straight points from Brosnahan to close within 40-30 at the break.
As the second half opened, though, UMHB held UTD at bay for much of the first four minutes, building its lead back to 16 points (52-36) at 15.52. But UTD answered and played its way right back into the game. With still 12:07 to go, the Comets got a Davis layup to cut the lead down to 57-51. But UTD went cold again, scoring only at the free-throw line over a three-minute span until Grimes again stopped the bleeding with another layup at 9:12 to stay within reach at 67-58.
But after a Ciara Guilhaus three-pointer cut the lead to 69-61 at the 8:39 mark, UMHB went on a 9-0 streak to open up a 78-61 lead with 7:01 left, and UTD could not get the margin below double figures again. Brosnahan scored five straight points to cut the lead down to 78-66 with 5:08 to go, but a Davis three-pointer was UTD's only other field goal in the final five minutes.
UTD must now wait until Monday to find out if it earns an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
