GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Trinity women's basketball team (15-10, 11-3 SAA) closed out their regular season today with a 71-68 win on the road at Southwestern University (13-12, 4-10 SAA), clinching the outright SAA Regular Season Championship. After falling behind early, a huge third quarter from the Tigers propelled them past the Pirates to end their first SAA regular season campaign on a high note. 

Trinity shot 44% from the field and 27% from three today, while Southwestern made 38% of their field goals and 29% of their threes. The Pirates made up for their gap in field goal percentage on the offensive glass, outrebounding the Tigers by 10 overall and grabbing 9 more offensive rebounds. Second chance opportunities resulted in 8 more shot attempts for Southwestern, allowing them to hang tough despite their performance from the field. They scored 20 second-chance points, while Trinity had just 2. The slight advantage in the turnover battle also went to the Tigers, as they grabbed 10 steals to force 14 turnovers, while giving the ball up just 10 times themselves.

Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) netted her second-straight outing with more than 20 points, scoring 21 to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on 47% (8-17) shooting from the field and 50% (2-4) from three. Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) recorded her second career double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals on 50% (7-14) shooting. Livy Sauvageau (Houston, Texas / Second Baptist) added 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal on 42% (5-12) shooting. Natalie Greenwood (Dallas, Texas / Byron Nelson) was a bright spot down low for the Tigers, as she contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks on 57% (4-7) shooting. 
 

Coach Speak
"Winning in this league is like trying to match pitch with Mariah Carey," began Head Coach Cameron Hill. "One day you have to play slow, next day fast, some times you can trap, other times you can't. Zone works some, but man is required too. Her vocal range is the only thing that can properly illuminate the challenge of playing in the SAA. She makes it look easy, trust me it's not. Great game today, felt like a Fantasy. Time for us to Fly Like A Bird. I hope the bus doesn't BREAKDOWN on the way home. ONWARD."

The Rundown 
It was neck and neck through much of the first quarter as both teams traded offensive blows. With 3:32 to go, after neither team could create a lead of more than three points, the score remained locked at 14. That's when the Trinity offense went cold, however, missing all 5 of their field goal attempts over the period's final minutes. The Pirates were able to muster enough on their side of the court to create some separation, but not enough to break the game open, ended the quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 22-15 lead heading into the second.

The Tigers came into the second quarter looking to reassert themselves, and they did so by scoring the first 6 points of the period, making the lead 21-24 with 7:42 to play. They weren't able to make the gap any smaller than that, however, as the Pirates held tight to their slim lead. After Greenwood scored her sixth point of the quarter to make things 27-32 with 5:27 to play, Southwestern responded with 6 unanswered points as they slowly began to pull away again, taking a 38-27 lead with 3:00 to play in the half. The Pirates were scoreless over the final three minutes, however, as Trinity ended the half on a short 4-0 run to bring the lead back within single digits. Heading into halftime, Southwestern led 38-31.

The third quarter was all Tigers. Still facing a 33-41 deficit with 8:14 to play, their offense roared to life with a 13-0 run to take their first lead since early in the first quarter. With 4:21 to go, after shooting 75% and forcing 4 turnovers over the last 3:53, Trinity led 46-41. The Pirates were able to keep things from getting ugly, closing the gap to 48-51 with 1:20 to play, but the Tigers scored the final 4 points of the period and, heading into the fourth, had flipped the game on its head to take a 55-48 lead.

A Sauvageau three gave Trinity their first double-digit lead of the game, 58-48, with 8:32 to go, and the momentum looked like it may not swing back towards the home side. The Tigers controlled the flow of the game throughout the period and, with 1:48 to go, they still led 67-58. With a three-pointer and a layup in quick succession, however, the Pirates found themselves right back in it, down 63-67 with 46 seconds left. Unfortunately for them, despite late success from the field, their intentional fouls fell towards Minter and Sauvageau, who drained all four foul shots to keep Trinity ahead. A last-second Southwestern bucket trimmed the lead down to within one possession, but the Tigers escaped with a 71-68 win.

Looking Ahead 
The Tigers earned the No. 1 seed in the SAA and thus, a first-round bye in the SAA Championships. They'll take on the winner of No. 4 Oglethorpe University (17-8, 9-5 SAA) vs. No. 5 Berry College (15-10, 9-5 SAA) on Feb. 27 in the semifinals. The two teams split their regular season matchups, but Berry got the better of the Stormy Petrels in their last meeting, a 71-49 blowout on Jan. 23. Trinity beat Berry twice this season but fell to Oglethorpe 70-85 on Feb. 13 after defeating them earlier in the year.