RICHARDSON, TX (02.01.14) - The UT Dallas women's basketball team will be heading to the American Southwest Conference Tournament for the ninth straight season after a 74-68 home win over Howard Payne Saturday afternoon.

The Comets (now 16-3, 13-3 ASC) stopped a four-game winning streak by the Lady Jackets (12-7, 11-5), who entered the game just a game behind UTD in the ASC standings. The UTD win - coupled with a loss by 9th-place LeTourneau - assured the Comets of one of the eight post-season spots with still six ASC games still to play.

UTD got a game-high 25 points from senior forward Morgan Kilgore while Christina Brosnahan added 15 points and Madi Hess finished with 12 points to round out the Comets in double figures.

UTD shot better than 50 percent from the field for just the second time this seaon as they closed out a five-game homestand. UTD, which had a perfect night at the free throw line just six days ago, struggled at the stripe Saturday, leaving 10 points at the line on 25 attempts.

The Comets out-rebounded the Lady Jackets, 38-33; and blocked six shots. Kilgore led the way with nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Kimmie Grimes pulled down eight boards.

The game had the makings of a tight one from the outset, but UTD took a lead it would not surrender on a Hess three-pointer at the 6:23 mark of the first half. HPU tied the game twice in the second half, but each time, the Comets had an answer and pulled away with a late run to secure their second win over the Lady Jackets this season.

Down 8-3 early, Brosnahan brought the Comets back with two baskets in a :17 second span to light a spark offensively for UTD and pull the Comets to within one (8-7) at 13:57. With 8:16 to go before the break, HPU rattled off a 6-1 run to go up, 19-12. But Hess answered again with another three at the other end and did it again after a Kilgore layup to put the Comets ahead 20-19 at 6:23. A pair of Jo'Anna Davis layups in a :38 span stretched the lead out to five, and baskets by Sarah Wisor and Hess finished off the first half with UTD up 30-23.

The lead got as big as eight points (39-31) with a Kimmie Grimes layup with 15:40 remaining, but the Lady Jackets were not done. A quick 13-5 HPU run got the lead down to 44-42 with 11:10 remaining and HPU eventually tied the score 46-46 with still 9:31 to play.

Hess got the lead back for the Comets (51-48) with another three-pointer at 8:27 to start an 8-2 run that included a pair of threes from Amber Brown. With 6:17 to go, UTD had started distancing itself away from HPU with a 59-50 lead. The Lady Jackets did inch back to within five points twice in the final 1:55, but a foul and a turnover by HPU's Jessica Galaviz stopped two possessions and UTD was able to finish off the win.

The Comets finally get a five-day break before returning to the court. UTD travels to Mississippi College and Louisiana College next Thursday and Saturday before returning home on Feb. 13 for the final two regular season home games of the season.