RICHARDSON, TX (11.17.18) - After just two games, the No. 16-ranked UT Dallas women's basketball team is getting a reputation as a second-half team as the Comets rallied for a 70-62 win over Ithaca College Saturday night in the championship of th 18th Annual McWilliams Classic, hosted by Washington-St. Louis.
The Comets (now 2-0) used a 39-point fourth quarter Friday night in an 86-77 win over host WashU before outscoring Ithaca, 44-26, over the final two quarters in Saturday's win over the Bombers, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit. UTD scored 22 points against Ithaca in the fourth quarter Saturday night, now outscoring its first two opponents of the season by a combined score of 61-38 in the final period. Both WashU and Ithaca qualified for last season's NCAA Division III National Championship, both advancing to the second round.
Trailing 48-45 entering the final frame tonight, the Comets would quickly knot the game, 52-52, at the 7:58 mark on a three-pointer by
Shannon Mathis, her third trey of the night. The Bombers would regain the lead on their next possession, but UTD would respond with a free throw, steal and a lay up by
Nkechinyerem Okehi, giving the Comets their first lead since 2-0, going up 55-54 with 6:43 on the clock.
Katie Gunther and
Raenett Hughes would then add back-to-back buckets to extend the Comets' lead to five points near the midway point of the fourth quarter and UTD would never look back. The Comets limited the high-powered Bombers to just 5-of-17 shooting over the final 10 minutes, including 0-for-6 from three-point range. Ithaca opened the classic with a dominating 98-36 win over Blackburn Friday night.
The Comets were 9-for-18 (50%) from the floor in the fourth and finished the night shooting 42.9 percent (24-for-56) for the game. UTD was 6-for-21 from three-point range, hitting two of those three-pointers in the final period.
Gunther, who was named the Tournament's Jackie Schapp Most Valuable, finished with 16 points while adding six rebounds. Hughes, who was also named All-Tournament, shared Gunther's team lead with 16 points, adding four rebounds, five steals and a pair of blocks.
The Comets will return to action Wednesday afternoon when they visit Southwestern for a non-conference contest. Tip-off is 4 p.m. in Georgetown.
