RICHARDSON, Texas - The UT Dallas women's basketball team will open its seventh trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship Friday night when the Comets play at regional host #4/5 Trinity (Texas) at 8 p.m..

The Comets are 19-9 after winning the American Southwest Conference for the fifth time on Saturday in Abilene, Texas. UTD first-year head coach Joe Shotland will battle his alma mater's Tigers (26-1), where he spent the previous eight years as an assistant coach and was a four-year letterwinner for the men's program.

The other First Round game in San Antonio will feature #8/9 Hardin-Simmons (23-3), the regular season champion from the ASC, and the Southern Collegiate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Redlands (19-7) at 5:30 p.m.

The winners of the two games will meet at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets will be $10 for general admission, $7 for students, seniors and children.

The Sectionals are scheduled for March 10-11 at school sites and the Semifinals will be held on March 18 in Hartford, Conn. The Division III Championship game will be on April 1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas as part of the Women's Basketball Final Four weekend.

The Comets have used stingy defense and good ball control all season. The led the conference in field goal percentage defense (34.1), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.7) and scoring defense (54.1) and were second with 16.0 turnovers per contest.

UTD is 5-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2015. The Comets opened the 2020 tournament at home with a 74-69 win over Trinity.

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