McPherson and Sullivan Dominate in Tight Loss to TLU

SEGUIN, Texas - The University of Dallas women's basketball team lost their conference matchup with Texas Lutheran 70-68 this evening.  They fall to 5-11 on the year and 2-6 in conference play.

Dallas jumped out to an early 9-2 lead thanks to some hot shooting by Alyssa Sullivan, who went 3-4 from the field in the first two minutes of the game.  The Crusaders held that lead for nearly the entire first quarter, but the Bulldogs steadily clawed their way back and took a one-point lead into the second quarter.  This time, the Bulldogs were on the front foot, leading by as many as nine points in the second quarter.  And this time, it would be Dallas who slowly, but surely chipped away at the deficit, trailing by just one point going into the break.

The Crusaders came out a bit flat to start the second half; it took them nearly four minutes to score their first points, and the Bulldogs were able to amass a double-digit lead in short order as a result.  Dallas showed their grit once again, however, tying the game twice inside the final minute of the third quarter to go into the fourth all square at 47-47.  It was still all square with seven seconds on the clock, but off-setting turnovers gave the Bulldogs the ball and they made good with their chance.  The Crusaders had about three seconds to get the ball down the other and managed to get the shot off, but it would miss the mark from long range.

Canai McPherson led all players with 27 points on the night, going 4-11 from three with five rebounds and four assists.  Alyssa Sullivan was right behind, posting a season-high 20 points with seven rebounds.  She went 4-6 from beyond the arc in what was a fantastic three-point shooting performance by the Crusaders, going 11-25 (44%) as a team.

Up Next

Conference play continues tomorrow, as the Crusaders head to Southwestern.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from Georgetown.