>>02.04.06
Late Cold Spell Dooms Comets'
Bid For Revenge Victory Over ETBU
ETBU 62, UTD 55

RICHARDSON, TX - The University of Texas at Dallas women's basketball team could not have picked a worse time to hit a cold-shooting streak Saturday afternoon.

With 3:48 left in the game, the Comets had a four-point lead (54-50) over East Texas Baptist, the ASC East Division's second-place team that beat them by 35 points last weekend. But UTD's bid at avenging that loss with an upset victory was thwarted when the Comet failed to score again from the field, and lost 62-55, in the final minutes of the game.

The loss was doubly painful for UTD in that it wasted a gallant effort from the Comets, who kept the game close and traded leads throughout. It also dropped UTD back to 9-8 in ASC play - a half-game behind both Austin College and University of the Ozarks (both 10-8) in the race for the final playoff berths out of the ASC East Division race.

UTD (10-10 overall) plays at both AC and Ozarks next weekend, but has just five regular season games left to overtake one or both of those teams in an attempt to qualify for the post season for the first time in program history. ETBU 14-7, 11-7) remained in second place despite the loss.

Jennifer Longoria (pictured) led UTD in scoring with 14 points, including a 10-point effort to open the game and give the Comets an early 14-5 lead five minutes in. But ETBU charged back, tying the score at 20-20 with 7:09 remaining in the first half, and the race was on.

At halftime, UTD was up, 32-31, and increased its lead to 38-33 five minutes in. The five-point advantage, however, was a far up as UTD could get as ETBU continued to work the ball inside. ETBU took the lead at 43-42 with 10:55 remaining, and the two teams exchanged the lead five different times before the Comets inched out to that 54-50 lead with 3:48 remaining. ETBU retook the lead for the final time (55-54) with a pair of Marzetta Shepard free throws at the 2:42 mark, then drove a nail in the coffin on a layup and free throw play with :51 left.

Cassi Little made it a one-possession game with a free throw with :33 remaining (58-55), but the Lady Tigers got the big rebounds and put the game away in the final seconds.

Other than Longoria (18 points), Danielle Barnett was the only other Comet in double figures with 11.

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