RICHARDSON, TX (12.29.18) - For the second day in a row, the 19th-ranked UT Dallas women's basketball team took advantage of a dominant second half to cap off the 2018 Courtyard by Marriott Classic with a 72-47 win over Berry College (GA).

The Comets improved to 9-4 overall with the two tournament wins and will take a week to prepare to meet nationally-ranked Thomas More next Saturday at 4 pm in the UTD Activity Center.

After a sluggish start and a narrow 36-30 halftime lead, UTD ran off and left the Vikings (4-6) with a 36-17 second half offensive explosion to post the 25-point win. After Berry had cut the lead down to four points (36-32) and missed a layup that would have made it a 2-point game, the Comets reeled off 11 unanswered points over a 4-minute span. Mia Spennato's three-pointer at the 4:52 mark of the third period put UTD ahead, 47-32, and the Vikings had to play catch up the rest of the game.

UTD then opened the fourth period with a surge of fast breaks, running off nine quick points to stretch the lead to 59-39 on a Nkechinyerem Okehi layup with 7:22 to play. The Comets finished the game with 16 points off the fast break, 25 points after one of 22 forced Viking turnovers, and 32 points off the bench. Victoria Pena led the way with 13 points and five rebounds, but Alexa Boushey came off the bench to pitch in 10 points. All told, nine different UTD players found their way into the scoring column. UTD had 10 steals and six blocked shots.

The UTD defense was the big story in the second period, holding Berry to just six field goals on 27 attempts (.222 pct.) 

The Vikings did come out firing early, hitting over 62 percent in the first quarter, but a late run by UTD gave the Comets the 24-19 edge.