Women's Basketball Comes Up Just Short vs St. Thomas

January 19, 2024

HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Dallas women's basketball team lost their conference game against the University of St. Thomas 52-50 on Friday, falling to 10-8 overall on the year and 4-5 in conference play.

The Crusaders were done in by two bumpy periods of basketball.  They got off to a rough start, scoring just six points in the first quarter on a 3-of-14 (21.4%) shooting performance from the field.  Trailing by eight, they bounced back with a solid second quarter where they controlled the play.  Dallas shot 7-of-17 (41.2%) from the field in the period and outscored the Celts 19-10 to erase the deficit and take a 25-24 lead into halftime.

But Dallas struggled once again in the third quarter.  They were 3-of-11 from the field in the first five and a half minutes, then went scoreless for the rest of the period as St. Thomas slowly built up a 10-point lead.

Once again, the Crusaders bounced back with a solid fourth quarter, outscoring the Celts 18-10 on 7-of-17 shooting from the field.  They had the opportunity to tie it up at the buzzer on a heavily contested chance in the paint, but came up just short.  The Celts were abysmal from the field, going just 1-of-7 in the fourth quarter, but did just enough with an 8-of-16 performance from the line to hold off the Crusaders, whose 3-of-10 performance from the line in the fourth quarter will surely sting after such a close game.

Caroline Croft and Tessa Hastings shared the team lead with nine points apiece.  Croft flirted with a double-double, as she recorded eight assists, one away from tying her single-game best. Imani Hardin notched eight rebounds and eight points on the night.

Up Next

The Crusaders will face Centenary College on the road tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 20 at 6:00 pm.