GAME PREVIEW: Dallas vs. Arlington Baptist College (2/19)
(Photo Graphic courtesy of Hannah Miller)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
College TV Ticket (Video)
OPENING TIP
The University of Dallas women's basketball team (13-10) returns to the Maher Athletic Center for a pair of home games to close out the regular season. Dallas is 7-4 at the friendly confines, including a 4-1 mark versus non-conference opponents.
UD will meet another foe outside the SCAC on Thursday with Arlington Baptist College. First tip is at 5:30 p.m. The latest opposition not in conference was a couple weeks ago when the Lady Crusaders were at Dallas Christian College, where they prevailed 81-67. Thursday's contest marks the end of a stretch of 12 of 13 being within league play.
LAST TIME OUT
Dallas dropped a pair of SCAC games last Friday and Saturday for its final road trip of the regular season. The first of the setbacks resulted in a 72-65 score at Schreiner University, before falling 66-39 at Trinity University the next evening.
In the contest at Kerrville, Texas, the Navy and White held a 35-24 advantage at halftime. SU would rally in the latter frame and outscore the road squad 48-30.
Leading the Lady Crusaders offensively was freshman Michelle DeCoud (Monument, Colo.) with 21 points. It was the second time this campaign for the rookie to eclipse the 20-point mark in an affair.
Also tallying double-digit performances were sophomore Sammi Tso (Las Vegas, Nev.) with 17 and sophomore Seana Stoia (Tulsa, Okla.) with 10. Stoia pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
On Saturday, Dallas got behind quickly and never led in the contest, scoring a season-low in the road matchup at Trinity. Senior Chelsea Cole (Mission, Texas) would end a 13-0 run with a trey for the Lady Crusaders' first points of the game. UD trailed 47-19 at intermission and shot 25.5-percent from the floor.
QUICK NOTES
- Senior Marleyna Bustamante (Donna, Texas) boasts the most points on the squad with 267 total and 11.6 per game. Right behind her at 263 and an 11.4 clip is DeCoud. Senior Brooke Hagemann rounds out the trio with 11.2 a contest.
- Butstamante and Hagemann rank atop the team-leaderboard with 49 and 45 steals, respectively. Bustamante is third in the SCAC. The duo help lift Dallas to the top of league rankings with 260 overall and an 11.3 average.
- DeCoud remains at the top of the team and third in the league with 180 rebounds and is grabbing 7.8 a game.
- Tso leads UD with 61 assists and has swiped 30 steals, while pouring in the highest amount of trifectas with 35.
- As a team, the Lady Crusaders own the second highest scoring offense in the conference with 71.3 points-per-game (ppg).
- Dallas will celebrate its "Play4Kay" game on Saturday against Austin College.
SCOUTING ARLINGTON BAPTIST COLLEGE
The Patriots have won 12-straight and will be looking to keep the stretch going at Irving, Texas. ABC hasn't been as successful compared to its undefeated home record, but are 8-5 away from the confines.
The latest outing for Arlington Baptist College was a 108-46 decision at Dallas Christian College on Tuesday. About a week ago, the Patriots squeaked out an 83-81 win at McMurry University. Four of the last road contests have been part of the lengthy winning span for the Red, White, and Blue.
A year ago, Dallas defeated the Patriots at the campus in Arlington, Texas, with a 76-62 result. Of those currently on the roster, Stoia notched a double-double with a game-high 23 points and 11 boards. Bustamante added 10.
In 2012-13, the Lady Crusaders topped ABC at the Maher Athletic Center with an 83-75 display. Bustamante contributed 11 in that triumph.
UP NEXT
Dallas closes out the regular season on Feb. 21 versus Austin College at 2 p.m. The matchup marks "Senior Day" for a quartet of players on UD's roster including: Briana Bircher (Gilbert, Ariz.), Bustamante, Cole, and Hagemann.
Next week Dallas will participate in the SCAC Championship Tournament hosted at its home venue in Irving, Texas, Feb. 27-March 1.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Dallas Twitter: UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports)
Women's Basketball Twitter: udallaswbb (@UDallasWBB)
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics