Women's Basketball Triumphs on New Year's Day over Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College

IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas women's basketball team (5-2) remained unbeaten at the Maher Athletic Center Thursday afternoon following an 84-73 victory versus Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (12-3).

Five Lady Crusaders cracked double figures in scoring as the home squad greeted the 2015 portion of their schedule with a season-best 51 points in the opening half, and boasted a season-best 48 percent shooting result from the field in the game. The navy and white also extended its longest winning streak of the campaign to three-straight.

Dallas trailed early after a pair of Hillsdale Free Will Baptist baskets, but a three-point trey from sophomore Holly Tonry (Seattle, Wash.) counted towards UD's first score of the affair. After exchanging points the next couple minutes, the Saints pushed the momentum and would eventually lead by as many as 10 with 11:49 to go in the first stanza.

The navy and white rattled off a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to a point over the next two minutes. A trifecta from sophomore Sammi Tso (Las Vegas, Nev.), who knocked 6-of-10 shots from downtown en route to a career-best, 19 points; lifted UD to its first edge of the contest 32-31.

The Lady Crusaders would notch a 27-10 difference in the final 37 points of the half that counted leading into intermission.

Out of the break Dallas kept HFWBC around the double-digit margin distance and would gradually add on throughout the frame. The home team capped a 13-6 spurt off freshman Michelle DeCoud's (Monument, Colo.) layup to up an 18-point advantage just over the halfway mark until regulation concluded.

UD finished with its second-highest scoring output as a team on the season and also at the Maher Athletic Center; averaging 81.3 points a contest in the friendly confines where the navy white improved to 4-0.

Behind Tso's career performance was DeCoud contributing 15 points to lead three players off the Lady Crusaders' bench that combined for 25 in the win. Sophomore Lindsey Gendron (Houston, Texas) and freshman Jessica Foster (Oklahoma City, Okla.) added 12 and nine points, respectively.

Also joining the five double-digit scoring unit were senior Marleyna Bustamante (Donna, Texas.) chipping in 14 and Tonry with 12.

A trio of players tied for a team-high eight rebounds which included: senior Brooke Hagemann (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Foster, and DeCoud.

Foster notably logged career-highs in both point and rebounding totals on the day, and Tonry matched a season-high, seven assists in consecutive home contests.

The Saints outdid UD on the boards 43-37 and placed a quartet of players in double figures. Tamiyjah Smith tallied a double-double posting 10 points and rebounds. Hillsdale Free Will Baptist was led offensively by the trio Brooke Grant, Hanna Reyes, and Shana McCosar with 14 apiece.

Next Opponent:

Dallas opens Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) action on Saturday, January 5 at Austin College. The first tip is slated for 2 p.m.