RICHARDSON, TX (02.24.15) - The UT Dallas women's basketball team opens its ninth straight American Southwest Conference Tournament at 2:30 p.m. Thursday against Concordia Texas in Tyler.
UT TYLER TOURNAMENT CENTRAL PAGETOURNAMENT BRACKETThe Comets (21-4) enter the postseason as the tournament's No. 2 seed after already tying the program's record for wins in a season. UTD posted a 17-3 mark in the ASC play this season and will kickoff the tournament against CTX in a rematch of both team's regular-season finale. UTD claimed a 65-55 win over the Tornados this past Saturday.
UTD is 6-7 in its previous eight trips to the ASC Tournament, advancing to at least the semifinals each of the past four seasons. The Comets claimed their only league title in 2013. UTD is 1-1 all-time in the ASC Tournament against Concordia Texas. The Comets lost to CTX, 61-46, in the 2012 semifinals and opened the 2015 event with a 79-70 win over the Tornados.
The Comets lead the ASC in scoring defense, allowing just 55.9 points per game, and are on pace to set the school record for scoring margin, ranking second in the league at +11.4. UTD sits sixth in the conference in scoring offense at 67.3 points per outing.
UTD is limiting foes to a league-best 34.7 percent accuracy from the field, holding opponents to just 28.2 percent from three-point range, ranking second in the league. Offensively, the Comets are second in the ASC in field goal percentage (40.7%), third in both three-point percentage (32.9) and free-throw percentage (72.9%).
The Comets are led by ASC Player of the Year candidate
Madi Hess, who leads UTD in nearly every statistical category. The senior point guard has already set the UTD season record for assists and lead the league with 5.5 assists per game. She also leads the ASC from three-point range, shooting 47.9 percent from beyond the arc. Hess also leads the Comets in scoring (12.1 ppg), rebounding (7.4 rpg) and steals (2.3 spg). She ranks 12th in the ASC in scoring, 10th in rebounding and fourth in steals.
Senior, guard
Amber Brown is the only other UTD player averaging double digits as she ranks 20th in the ASC with 10.8 points per game. Brown also ranks 6th in the league in assists (3.8 apg), 11th in blocked shots (0.9 bpg) and 15th in steals (1.5 spg). Brown (80.5%) and senior center
Ashley Shaw (79.8%) rank fifth and seventh in the ASC in free-throw percentage, respectively.
The ASC Tournament opens noon Thursday with No. 3-seeded Louisiana College facing sixth-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor. At 5 p.m., No. 4 seed Howard Payne will face fifth-seeded Hardin-Simmons and host and top-seeded Texas-Tyler will play No. 8 seed Ozarks at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals are slated for 5 and 7:30 p.m. Friday with the league's title game played at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The entire eight-team, single elimination event is available for fans to watch online for free. All tournament links for live stats, broadcasts, box scores, game recaps, bracket, photos and post-game interviews can be found on the ASC Tournament Central page and the Texas-Tyler athletic website.
Admission prices each day will be $5 for adults, $3 for college students (with current college ID), children and senior citizens. Tournament passes will not be available. Souvenir tournament t-shirts are $15, while official game programs are $2. Tickets are available on game days at the Herrington Patriot Center main entrance or to purchase tournament tickets in advance call 903-556-7105.
