BIRMINGHAM, AL (12.09.20) - UT Dallas head women's basketball coach Polly Thomason collected her 300th career coaching victory Wednesday night as her Comets earned a 70-66 win over Piedmont College to open the Dardenne Memorial Classic, hosted by Birmingham-Southern.

In her 16th season with the Comets, Thomason now boasts a 300-115 career record while leading UTD to four American Southwest Conference championships and six trips to the NCAA Division III National Championship. Thomason will look for win No. 301 Thursday night as her Comets face Belhaven in their second of three games at the classic. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at the Bill Battle Coliseum.

Leading by seven points, 53-46, heading to the fourth period, the Comets (now 2-0) had to hold off Piedmont down the stretch to pick up their second straight win to open the 2020-21 campaign. The Lions clawed back late in the contest, even tying the game, 66-66, with just over a minute to play on a Lu Woolfolk steal and breakaway layup. Comet senior Raenett Hughes then broke the stalemate with a free throw with 38 seconds remaining and the UTD defense clamped down to secure the victory. 

A Hughes' steal on Piedmont's ensuing possession led to two more free throws by the senior to extend the Comet lead to three points with 14 ticks left. The Lions then opted to drive to the bucket instead of a game-tying three-pointer, but the shot rimmed out, allowing UTD's Sydney Brock to aggressively snagged the board and draw a foul. Brock drained one of her two free throws to ice the victory with three seconds on the clock.

Hughes led all scorers with 26 points while adding 10 rebounds, also a game high, for her second consecutive 'double-double' performance. Hughes, the reigning ASC East Player of the Week, was just 6-of-16 from the field but hit 14-of-16 free throws while adding five assists and a pair of steals. Freshman McKenzie Howard added eight points and Jordan Maxwell had seven.

The two teams were knotted, 18-18, after the first 10 minutes of play before the Comets would secure a 38-32 lead at the intermission. 

The Comets finished the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field, making 4-of-15 three-pointers, and were 22-of-33 from the charity stripe.