>>12.06.05
Bench Takes Charge As UTD Gives Coach First College Win
UTD 76, Texas Lutheran 53

SEGUIN, TX - The University of Texas at Dallas women's basketball team got a 42-point contribution from its reserve players to lead to Comets' to a dominating 76-53 win over Texas Lutheran - their first win of the season and the first victory in Coach Polly Thomason's head coaching career.

UTD (1-3, 1-2 in ASC) got a 12-point, 10-rebound performance out of sophomore Ashley Soto (near right). Both Soto and junior Jenna Harris (far right, who finished with a team-high 13 points) saw plenty of action after starting inside players Dani Barnett and Cassi Little got in early foul trouble. The pair were the only Comets to finish in double figures, but UTD got scoring from 11 different players as Coach Thomason emptied her bench early and often.

The Comets dominated TLU (1-7, 1-4) from the beginning, racing out to a 49-18 halftime lead and building the advantage to as many as 39 points (65-24) with 11:10 still remaining. The game might have been even more one-sided had the UTD reserves not allowed TLU to finish the game on an 18-2 run in the final 5:45.

After an early 5-5 tie, the Comets went on a 14-2 run to gain a 19-7 advantage on inside shooting from Soto in a five-minute span. In the final six minutes of the first period, UTD put 19 more points on the board. After TLU cut the lead down to 28 (52-24) with 16:10 to go, the Comets reeled off 13 unanswered points to put the lead at 29 with 11:10 remaining.

UTD forced 19 turnovers and blocked 4 TLU shots.

BOXSCORE