Comets Keep Close, But Split Weekend

Pair of Hale Double-Doubles Not Quite Enough For UTD

RICHARDSON/TYLER, TX - The UTD women's basketball team may be playing some of its best basketball of the season, but is having trouble getting rewarded for its efforts.

Following a 73-55 home win over the University of the Ozarks on Saturday and a heart-breaking 86-82 loss at UT-Tyler Monday, UTD is 4-4 in its last eight games with all four losses coming at seven points or less.

The losses have put the Comets (11-9, 7-8) solidly in the middle of the American Southwest Conference race, but they've kept UTD from improving to the point that they can start thinking about qualifying for their second straight berth in the ASC Championship Tournament. With five regular season games left, UTD sits in fourth place three games behind UTT, which now leads the division at 13-7, 10-5.

Sophomore Lauren Hale led the Comets in the two weekend games with back-to-back double-doubles. She had 26 points and 10 rebounds against Ozarks, then had 13 and 11 against UT-Tyler.

UTD 73, OZARKS 55 (boxscore)

UTD bounced back in a big way in a Saturday home game with the University of the Ozarks, but struggled to shake the 1-18, 1-13 Lady Eagles. The Comets worked to a steady 10-point halftime lead (40-30), then kept Ozarks at bay in the second half. Hale was the difference offensively as Chelsea Edwards and Tarneisha Scott were the only other Comets to finish in double figures, combining for 20 points and 15 rebounds.

UTD had a huge advantage defensively, out-rebounding the Lady Eagles, 54-34. Hale pitched in three blocks. The Comets did have their largest lead of the game - 18 points - at the end.

UT-TYLER 86, UTD 82 (boxscore)

The Comets saw a great chance to move up in the standings slip through their fingers Monday night on the road. UTD was on fire in the first half, shooting 54 percent and building a 54-38 halftime lead with a fast 30-16 finish after holding a 24-22 lead. But the Patriots went on a 30-12 run of their own to open the second period, while UTD's second-half shooting fell to just 33 percent. With 9:33 remaining, the Patriots had taken a 68-66 lead.

The two teams battled back and forth in the final 10 minutes before UTD took an 82-81 lead on a pair of Edwards' free throws with :20 left. But UTT star Kasey Buggs (who finished with 26 points) took the inbound pass the other way, got fouled on a layup and gave the Patriots an 84-82 lead. Edwards then missed UTD's last attempt to tie, and Buggs grabbed her 11th rebound of the game to secure the win.

Jenise Langston had another big game, leading UTD with 24 points while hitting four 3-point shots, but only had five in the second half. The Comets finished with seven three's, but scored only 11 points at the free throw line while Tyler got 29 attempts on 21 UTD fouls.