Box Score ABILENE, TX (01.09.16) - Junior
Kendall Festervand drained two three-pointers in the final 30 seconds, but it wasn't enough as the No. 24-ranked UT Dallas women's basketball team dropped its third game in four outings Saturday afternoon with a 59-57 loss at McMurry.
After opening the season 7-1, the Comets have now slipped to 8-4 with Saturday's loss and will look to bounce back Thursday as they host No. 9-ranked Texas-Tyler in a key American Southwest Conference clash. Game time is 5:30 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
The Comets dominated the inside game, outscoring host McMurry, 22-8, in the paint, but could not overcome another poor shooting performance and a season-low 10 free-throw attempts. UTD finished the afternoon just 22-of-64 (34.4%) from the field, hitting 7-of-21 three-pointers (33.3%), and were just 6-of-10 from the line.
Festervand hit just her second three-pointer of the season with 30 seconds left to play in the contest as her bucket cut the WarHawk lead to 57-54. McMurry added a free throw each from Taylor Russell and Sham Hunter to extend its lead back to four points with nine seconds remaining. Festervand would hit her second three-pointer of the game with two seconds left to cut the deficit back to two points, but that would be the Comets' final possession.
Festervand finished the game with 10 points, going 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-3 from long distance, and added three rebounds and an assist. Freshman
Kelsey Scibek matched Festervand's team scoring high, hitting 3-of-8 shots, including one three-pointer.
Shannon Mathis had eight points and seven assists while
Madison Steele had seven points.
McKenzie Petty finished with six points and a team-best seven rebounds.
The two teams traded leads throughout the first half before the host WarHawks grabbed a 28-27 lead heading into the locker room after a three-pointer by Jamie Flores late in the half. McMurry would extend its lead to as many as 10 points in the third period, 44-34, with 1:41 left to play in the frame. However, the Comets used a 6-0 run to end the period and added 1-of-2 free throws by Scibek early in the fourth to trim the McMurry lead to three points, 44-41, with 9:26 left to play. But, the WarHawks would build their lead back to seven points before the Comets would make a final charge with Festervand's three-pointers.
McMurry (now 3-11) shot just 35.3 percent (18-of-51) from the field, hitting just 5-of-16 three-pointers (31.3%), but went 18-of-25 (72%) to hold off the Comets. Haley Welch finished with a game-high 18 points to lead three McMurry player in double figures. Russell had 14 points while Chelsea Lail finished with 13 points.
