MARSHALL, TX (02.05.11) – The UT Dallas women's basketball team got the miracle finish they needed in regulation Saturday afternoon to force an overtime period and finally pull away with an 81-74 American Southwest Conference win over pesky East Texas Baptist University.
The Comets (17-4, 13-3), who struggled offensively all game long against the Lady Tigers (7-13, 5-11), finally found their three-point range in the game's final seconds, then pulled away with six points at the free throw line in the final minute of overtime to claim the win.
Senior Tarneisha Scott scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds for her third straight double-double, but no two shots were more important than a layup and an "and one" free throw shot she made following a foul with :34 seconds left. Those three points stretched UTD's lead from one point (73-72) to a two-possesion game (76-72) and ETBU never scored again. Lyndsey Smith then hit four straight free throws and Brittany Houston finished the scoring off with :03 left to ice the win.
Until the game's final minutes, however, it looked like the Comets were going to bend to ETBU's defensive pressure, which had held UTD to just 34 percent shooting in the first half, forced 25 Comet turnovers (leading to 25 ETBU points), and held UTD to just 1-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc until the final minute of regulation.
In a tight game throughout that featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes, UTD had taken the lead again at 57-55 with 2:10 remaining, but then saw ETBU go on an 8-2 run that had the Lady Tigers up 63-59 with :20 on the regulation clock.
With :14 left, Nikki Kosary missed a pair of free throws that could have got the Comets to within two, but a long rebound on the second shot ended up in Smith's hands and she immediately fired up a three (her first successful attempt of the day) that got UTD to within a point at 63-62. The Lady Tigers took the lead back out to 65-62 with a pair of free throws after a foul on the inbound pass, but UTD raced down the court with :08 left and Tawni Ichimura nailed the game-tying three with just :03 on the clock.
ETBU immediately scored on its first possession of overtime, but UTD answered with another Scott basket underneath and never gave up another shot from the floor the rest of the way. UTD took the lead for good on another Smith three with just 1:02 remaining to make it 73-70 and finished off the game with Scott's final bucket and six free throws of their own.
The late flurry of offense allowed Ichimura (15 points) and Smith (14 points, 7 rebounds) to join Scott in double figures. Houston finished with six points and five boards. UTD, which shot 54 percent from the field after halftime, held ETBU to just 34 percent (23-of-67) overall.
The win keeps the Comets in a solid second-place position in the ASC East Division. UTD has just four regular season games left, starting with a home game against third-place Mississippi College next Thursday night at 5:30 pm.
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