Borjon Fuels 2nd Half Turnaround for Women's Basketball on Friday at TLU
SEGUIN, Texas – A huge turnaround in the second half that included a 27-10 fourth quarter propelled the University of Dallas women's basketball team to a 64-52 victory on Friday night over Texas Lutheran University.
Madilyne Borjon (San Antonio, Texas) scored a personal-best 19 points with a 7-for-9 shooting performance from the field. This included 5-for-7 from downtown, and the freshman banged in three of them during a massive six and a half minute surge down the stretch.
The Crusaders split the season series with Texas Lutheran, and picked up their first head-to-head win with Friday's opponent since the programs joined the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). TLU joined in 2013-14. Dallas also gained ground on the final conference tournament spot by improving to 8-11 and 2-6 in SCAC action. The Bulldogs fell to 6-12 and 2-5 in conference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Crusaders jumped out to the first lead with Borjon making a triple and then Vanessa Diaz (San Antonio, Texas) splitting at the free throw line. The guests held an early lead before TLU changed the momentum with 11 points in a row to go in front 15-9 through the first seven minutes. A three by Michelle DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) cut the deficit with three to play, and then Jules Oliveti (Southlake, Texas) scored a layup 30 seconds later to make it 15-11. The Crusaders would trail by four at the end of the quarter.
In the second period, the Crusaders battled to erase the narrow difference by eventually tying the score the second and final time the rest of the way. Diaz made one-of-two free throws about midway through the frame to knot it at 22. Jumpers by Shelby Waldron (Banning, Calif.) and Borjon lifted UD back up by four with just over four until the break. However, the Bulldogs rattled off a 13-0 run that was highlighted by three straight trifectas. Down nine again, a jumper by Borjon gave UD's leading scorer 10 points that half, and sent her team into the break behind 35-28.
The Bulldogs did benefit from eight points off turnovers that half, but were outscored 16-12 by the Crusaders in that category overall.
Neither team eclipsed double-digits in points during the next 10-minute span. The Crusaders scored six of their nine points from Onyenso and were 4-of-20 from the field. Texas Lutheran slumped at 3-for-12, and did not improve in the fourth with a 4-for-19 effort. That included 1-of-7 from the three-point line.
Still, Dallas trailed by as many as nine (40-31) with four minutes remaining in the third quarter, but scored the next six points to help close the margin to five by the last horn that stanza.
Borjon got hot then with a three-pointer at 6:34 giving the Crusaders a 46-45 edge. It had countered TLU's Madyson Garcia trifecta on the previous play. The lead would not be relinquished from there, as Borjon's triple ignited a run of 14 straight points that included four treys for UD. Diaz hit a layup before the freshman guard sank back-to-back threes. Her first one had followed a steal by Diaz on the other end. Waldron capped the outburst with a three-pointer of her own.
Dallas led by as many as 15, and would keep the Bulldogs from shrinking the margin into single-digits the rest of the way. The Crusaders did score nine points in that fourth quarter on second chance opportunities.
STAT NOTABLES
A trio of players for Dallas notched double figure scoring performances headlined by Borjon with 19. Onyenso posted her fourth double-double this season with 14 points and 15 rebounds (eight offensive). Diaz rounded out the unit with another rookie earning a personal-high 14 points. DeCoud tied her second highest rebounding finish on the season with 14.
The Crusaders shot 38.5 percent from the field and made a season-high eight 3-pointers. UD struggled from the free throw line at 6-for-15, but ripped down a 54-37 edge on the boards. This included 22 offensive rebounds that helped a 14-9 difference on second chance points. The road team also edged Texas Lutheran 28-14 on points in the paint.
The Bulldogs had three starters score double-digits led by Cami Davis with 13. Dominique Campos and Byranna Delgado added 11 and 10, respectively.
TIP-INS
DeCoud snapped 21-game streak of scoring double-digits dating to last season. The senior improved her rankings in the all-time records by moving to fourth in free throws with 365. She moves ahead of Delilah Whisenhunt by one.
DeCoud also broke into the top-three for rebounds for the program. She has garnered 791, and her 10th outing to eclipse double-digits in that category helped push her past Christy Allen's 785.
4th contest this season to pull down over 50 rebounds as a team. Tied conference-best total from road game at Trinity University (Jan. 5th).
SOCIAL MEDIA
Final | #UDCrusaders WIN! Borjon was on �� tonight with a career-high in scoring (15 Pts. from deep)! Onyenso contributed a double-double in a big road #SCACwbb win! | @dallaswbb #GoUD #UDWBB #d3h pic.twitter.com/w6QxRAwErz
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) January 27, 2018
UP NEXT
Dallas visits Southwestern University tomorrow for a tip-off scheduled around 6 p.m. after the men's basketball game.