RICHARDSON, TX (01.07.21) - After a long-awaited return to its home court, the UT Dallas women's basketball team came from behind to earn a 62-58 win over reigning conference champion Mary Hardin-Baylor in the Comets' American Southwest Conference and home opener Thursday night.
Senior
Kelley Skinner scored a season-high 22 points, three shy of her career high, as the Comets (now 5-1, 1-0 ASC) rallied from down 12 points late in the third period to pick up the win in the battle of last season's ASC division winners.
Down 44-32 with just under three minutes left in the third, the Comets climbed back to within eight points heading to the fourth, setting up the comeback charge. UTD outscored the Cru (now 4-2, 0-1 ASC), 24-12, in the final stanza, thanks to poor free-throw shooting by its opponent.
The Comets clawed within a point, 55-54, with 2:28 remaining to play on a
Raenett Hughes lay up after a UMHB turnover.
Jordan Maxwell then drew a charge by the Cru's Madison McCoy on UMHB's next possession, and then give UTD the lead herself with an old-fashioned three-point play at the 2:00 mark. The Cru knotted the game on a lay up by McCoy soon after, but the Cru senior missed a free throw that would have giving them back the lead. The Comets then went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line as a team to hold on for the victory.
UTD struggled from the field over the opening 20 minutes of play, shooting just 27.3 percent as a team before the break. In comparison, the Cru went 14-of-23 (60.9%) in the opening half to secure a 35-26 lead at intermission. The Comets would hold UMHB to just 8-of-20 accuracy in the second half and the Cru went 7-for-15 from the foul line over the final two periods, missing six free throws in the final quarter.
Skinner was 7-for-12 from the field and added a game-high eight rebounds while Hughes added 10 points.
Sydney Brock came off the bench for eight points while Maxwell had seven.
The Comets continue their four-game home stand Saturday afternoon as they host Concordia Texas in another ASC contest. Tip-off is 1 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
