Lady Crusaders drop Tight One at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist
MOORE, Okla. – The University of Dallas women's basketball team (3-5) was outscored by eight in the fourth quarter, as Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College (11-1) claimed a 57-54 final on Wednesday afternoon. The No. 1 NCCAA ranked institution shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the last frame to swing the momentum after Dallas had limited the Saints to under 30 percent in the game at that juncture.
It was a back-and-forth contest that featured four ties and eight lead changes. After trailing by a small margin early, the Lady Crusaders would counter with a 14-10 second quarter to carry a narrow edge (25-24) into halftime.
A trey by junior Holly Tonry (Seattle, Wash.) and one of two free throws by classmate Sammi Tso (Las Vegas, Nev.) knotted the contest 15-all about four minutes into the second. After the home squad regained the lead on layup, junior Caitlyn Worry (Lumberton, Texas) posted three-pointers on consecutive UD made field goals to put the guests on top for the first time since up 11-10 with 56 seconds left in the opening quarter. Worry now has three-straight contests with a trio of made trifectas and would finish with nine points off the bench for the Navy and White.
During the first half of the third quarter, the team's traded points, as Hillsdale Freewill Baptist climbed within one on the scoreboard a couple of times, but never got in front until the final 10 minutes. The Lady Crusaders did go on a 6-2 run to close the frame out and lead by five on two occasions.
The largest lead for UD and for any squad in this game was eight, after Worry sank her third trey six seconds into the fourth. Back-to-back field goals by the Saints' Tamiyjah Smith would cut the deficit to four (41-37). Junior Seana Stoia (Tulsa, Okla.) hit a jump shot with 8:11 minutes left to increase the advantage, but Dallas went cold for two minutes until the forward finished a layup to end the drought.
The Saints still trailed by four with 6:09 to go, but would rattle off seven unanswered points to secure their first advantage of the second stanza. Sadie Perry propelled the home team in front with the first three-pointer of the half for her team and broke a 45-45 deadlock. After UD mustered four points to grab its final edge of the day (49-48), Perry nailed another triple and jumper to tally eight points in a row for Hillsdale Freewill. The Saints closed the game on a 9-5 run and outscored Dallas 24-16 in the fourth.
From the 2:13 remaining mark, the Lady Crusaders were held scoreless until 15 seconds remained in regulation. Tonry produced a trey to make things a one possession game, but the Saints would hit from the charity stripe and seal the victory.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
-Tonry posted a game-high 17 points (12 in second half), which marks her second highest total of the season. The guard has compiled 45 of her 91 points in the past three games, and has four double-digit scoring performances this year. Stoia chipped in 10 points.
- Sophomore Helen Onyenso (Oak Park, Ill.) grabbed nine rebounds to lead the team. Tso dished a season-high seven assists, and matched a personal best with that mark. The point guard has done that once in each of her previous seasons with UD.
- Dallas outshot the home team 36.8 percent (21-of-57) to 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the field, and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) to 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from downtown. The Saints got to the foul line 20 times compared to UD's eight. Neither squad shot over 60 percent from the line.
- The Lady Crusaders were outrebounded 45-35 and were outscored 17-11 in second chance points. Hillsdale Freewill Baptist tallied a 28-20 advantage for points in the post.
- Perry poured 11 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. Brooke Grant was the other double figure scorer with 11 points overall. Smith contributed nine points and led the team with eight boards.
UP NEXT
Dallas is back at the Maher Center on January 2 to host Austin College in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Opener. Tip-off follows the men's basketball game around 4 p.m.