RICHARDSON, TX (12.29.19) - Down by as many as 15 points early in Sunday's non-conference matchup with national powerhouse Albion College, the UT Dallas women's basketball team rallied with a 35-point fourth quarter to top the Britons, 77-68, in their opening game of the UTD Women's Basketball Classic.

Junior Raenett Hughes erupted for 35 points and seven steals, and senior Victoria Pena led the charge with 12 points in the second half as the Comets (6-3) clawed their way back to victory over Albion (9-2), which lost for only the second time this season.

UTD wraps up the holiday tournament Monday with a 2 pm matchup with Rutgers-Newark in the UTD Activity Center.

Early on, it looked as if the Britons might run away and leave the Comets behind as Albion jumped out to an impressive first-quarter showing and a 27-15 lead. But UTD managed to stay even in the second quarter and not let the game get away from them, but still trailed 38-29 at halftime after a pair of Hughes free throws just before the break. A Pena steal that led to a Kelley Skinner three-pointer 1:41 into the third quarter pulled the Comets to within six (34-40), but the Britons had pulled the lead back out to nine points (51-42) entering the final 10 minutes.

The Britons still led by nine (50-59) with 7:37 left in the game, but that's when the Comets erupted, reeling off 11 unanswered points over a four-minute period to take its first lead (60-59) after a pair of Katie Gunther layups and a Hughes jump shot with 4:13 left. The Comet defense then kept on the pressure, allowing just three more Albion points over the next four minutes until the Britons hit a pair of three-pointers in the final :18 trying to overcome what was then a 74-62 UTD lead. During that 7:37 span, UTD outscored Albion, 27-9.

After Albion inched back closer, Skinner's second three-pointer of the game with :43 left gave UTD a 68-62 advantage and the Britons were forced to foul down the stretch.

Skinner finished with 8 points while Katie Gunther, Natalie Miller and Emma Warnsman pitched in six each. Gunther and Skinner combined for 12 rebounds.