RICHARDSON, TX (12.30.19) - The UT Dallas women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 91-57 rout of Rutgers-Newark Monday afternoon to wrap up the 2019 UTD Classic.
The Comets improved to 7-3 on the season after Monday's win and will return to American Southwest Conference play Thursday night with a 5:30 p.m. road match at Concordia Texas in Austin.
UTD jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on the visiting Scarlett Raiders (1-10) and never looked back. Coming off of a 35-point fourth period Sunday in a come-from-behind win over Albion, the Comets would score 37 points in the second quarter of Monday's win to secure a 56-26 lead over Rutgers-Newark. UTD were 20-of-35 (57.1%) from the floor as a team over the opening 20 minutes, hitting five three-pointers, and forcing 16 Scarlet Raider turnovers.Â
Junior
Raenett Hughes, who was named ASC East Player of the Week earlier in the day, scored 19 of her game-high 24 points before the intermission, collecting five first-half steals. The Comets scored 27 points off of R-N's 16 turnovers and had 21 fast-break points, accounting for nearly half of their first-half offense.
The Comets then clamped down defensively in the third frame, outscoring R-N 20-8, as the Scarlett Raiders hit just 1-of-15 shots collecting in the period. Leading by 42 points at the close of the third period, the Comets rested their starters for league play. R-N outscored the Comets, 23-15, over the final 10 minutes to cut the final deficit to just 34 points.
Hughes finished the game 8-for-13 from the field, adding an 8-for-9 performance from the foul line, and added five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Victoria Pena added 13 points while
Natalie Miller and
Kelley Skinner each had 12 points. Miller led the Comets with nine boards while Pena dished out a game-high seven assists. Katie Gunter collected a game-high six steals.
UTD closed the win shooting a season-high 50.8 percent (33-of-65) while topping 90 points for the first time this season. The Comets were 7-of-20 (35%) from three-point range and shot 75 percent (18-of-24) from the free-throw line.
