RICHARDSON, TX (01.09.21) - For the second straight game to open league play, the UT Dallas women's basketball team erased a halftime deficit to claim a late victory as the Comets upended Concordia Texas, 62-58, Saturday afternoon in American Southwest Conference play.

The Comets (now 6-1, 2-0 ASC) had to overcome rough shooting from the free-throw line in the contest, but forced 28 CTX turnovers to rally from behind for the four-point victory, matching the score of the squad's come-from-behind win over Mary Hardin-Baylor Thursday night in their conference opener. UTD will continue its four-game home stand Thursday night when they host East Texas Baptist to open the ASC East slate.

UTD fell behind early to the visiting Tornados after the opening quarter, 20-12, but drew within a field goal, 28-26, after a defensive second period. The Comets headed to the final stanza tied, 41-41, before outscoring CTX, 21-17, over the final 10 minutes of play.

Raenett Hughes led all scorers with 24 points, her third 20-point performance of the season, on 10-of-18 accuracy, adding nine rebounds, two steals and two assists. McKenzie Howard was the only other Comet in double figures, adding 11 points with a pair of blocked shots.

The Comets got off to a slow start, trailing CTX by as many as nine points in the first quarter, after going 0-for-4 from the foul line over the opening 10 minutes. UTD then stepped up defensively in the second, scoring six points off of 12 Tornado turnovers in the period, to claw back into the contest. 

The Tornados (now 1-1, 1-1 ASC) maintained their advantage until the 5:37 of the third when Kelley Skinner hit a bucket to lift UTD to a 34-33 lead. After a pair of lead changes, the Comets would use a 6-0 run later in the third to eventually take a four-point lead, 40-36, after two Jordan Maxwell free throws at the 1:46 mark. CTX's Natalie Velardez drained three free throws after a desperation three-point attempt with one second one the clock in the quarter to know the game.

Velardez's free shots would spark an 8-0 as CTX secured a 46-41 lead early in the fourth. The Comets could not equal the game until the final five minutes when Anna Jefferson-Polk hit a trey to even the score, 50-50, with 4:18 left. The Tornados answered with a three by Allie Garza to regain the lead, but UTD responded with an other 6-0 run to re-take control, 56-53, after buckets by Howard and Hughes. 

CTX drew back within a single point with just under two minutes to play, but the Comet defense would hold the Tornados to just three points over the 1:40 while hitting 2-of-2 shots during that same stretch and connecting on 2-of-4 free shots to secure the victory.