Free Throw Struggles Costly for Women's Basketball

TYLER, Texas – The lid was on the basket on both ends of the floor in the second half as the teams combined for just 34 points in 20 minutes, but UT Tyler was able to hang on to defeat the St. Mary's Women's Basketball team 42-40 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Both teams shot under 28 percent in the second half, but the Patriots (13-2, 8-0 Lone Star) handled their shots at the free throw line better, making 13-of-17 for 73.8 percent, while the Rattlers (5-9, 1-7 LSC) were just 7-for-16 (43.8 percent).
 
Freshman Gabby Elliott (San Antonio) continued the strong start to her first campaign, leading all scorers with 17, while she and senior Natalia Ryng (Gdynia, Poland) tied for team-high honors with six rebounds each. Senior Briley Perkins (Houston) collected a season-high three assists all in the first half and junior Teanna Huggins had a team-best three steals.
 
The Rattlers took care of the ball, limiting one of the league's most tenacious defenses to just five steals – they entered the game averaging over 12 – and forced the Patriots into 19 turnovers – their highest total in conference play.
 
The Patriots took a five-point lead with 27 seconds remaining, but as they've done all season the Rattlers continued to scrap. Junior Ariah Powell (Detroit, Mich.) found a wide open Elliott on an inbounds pass under the basket for the layup and Powell hit a fadeaway three-pointer on the next possession after two UTT free throws to cut the deficit to two, 42-40 with 3.1 seconds left, but were unable to get the shot to go at the buzzer from three-quarters court.
 
Perkins bookended a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter, starting the scoring at 9:12 with a triple and hitting one at the buzzer to give the Rattlers the 11-10 lead after one quarter. StMU forced UTT into seven turnovers, while only turning it over once.
 
The teams went back-and-forth in the second quarter with three ties, though the Rattlers held the advantage through most – taking a five-point lead on Elliott's second straight turnaround jumper at the edge of the lane, 22-17 with 2:44 remaining. The Patriots closed the half on a 7-2 run for the 24-24 tie as they switched up their defense and forced a few StMU turnovers.
 
Elliott led all players with 11 points in the first half, while Ryng had a game-high five rebounds and Perkins had a season-high three assists in the first 20 minutes.
 
There wasn't a lot of scoring in the third quarter as the two teams combined for just 15 points, but UTT managed double that of the Rattlers to take a five-point lead into the final stanza, 34-29. Elliott scored four of the five points, while Huggins hit the other at the free throw line.
 
The struggles continued in the fourth quarter as the two teams tallied 19 points – and seven of those were at the free throw line. Powell scored four for the Gold & Blue – including the big triple with 3.1 ticks left.
 
The Rattlers remain on the road playing at UAFS on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Lions defeated Texas A&M International in Laredo on Saturday, 57-53 for their third win of the year.