TYLER, Texas (Jan. 31, 2021) – In the Pioneers third game in five days, they recorded their third win a row, defeating University of Texas – Tyler 57-51 on Monday night.
 
With the win on Monday, TWU (13-5, 6-1 Lone Star Conference) completed the season sweep of UT-Tyler (13-5, 6-3) and improved to 6-1 in Lone Star Conference action, making them second in the conference.
 
The two met for the first time this season in a nonconference game on Dec. 20, when the Pioneers beat the Patriots 61-49 in Denton, Texas. Then, they were supposed to play again Dec. 31, but the game was postponed. Exactly one month later, TWU handed the same fate to UT-Tyler this time in Tyler, Texas.
 
"I am just so proud of how this team continues to fight no matter what the circumstances are," TWU head coach Beth Jillson said. "Everyone stepped up in critical moments for us tonight. Even when we were down, we never hung our heads. We just found a way to make the next right play and get the win."
 
The first quarter started off slow for both teams. Keslyn King scored the first point of the game on a made free throw with 7:47 on the clock. At the end of the first, TWU led by two points, 10-8.
 
In the second quarter, the Pioneers started to find their groove on the offensive end. Ashley Ingram got TWU going with a jumper at the 8:24 mark.
 
Then, the Patriots went on a 5-0 run that was silenced by a Brielle Woods 3-pointer. After Woods' three, the Patriots answered by getting their largest lead of the game, eight points, with 4:24 left in the half.
 
Facing the eight-point deficit, TWU rose to the challenge. King made a jumper, followed by a three from Ingram and a three by Woods to cut the deficit to just two. With mere seconds left in the half, UT-Tyler made the mistake of fouling 88% free throw shooter Sadie Moyer, who hit both free throws to tie the game going into halftime.
 
The third quarter almost mirrored the first with some dry spells from both teams. Ingram scored four points, as the Pioneers only scored eight points in the quarter.
 
Down by three heading into the final quarter of action, the Pioneers showed their strength and ability to play big in big moments.
 
To start the fourth, Scout Huffman drove into the lane and made a fjumper. On the next possession, the Patriots defender stayed off Huffman, so Huffman drained a three to tie the game at 39.
 
Huffman lit the match for the Pioneers from 3-point range. After her three, Moyer hit a three to put the Pioneers ahead by two points. The Patriots would not go away though, but, thankfully, neither did Huffman.
 
After the Patriots cut it to a one-point game, Huffman splashed another 3-pointer to put the Pioneers ahead by four. Then, Woods caught the fire and confidently hit the three with two defenders in her face. However, UT-Tyler continued to score. They took a one-point lead with 4:02 on the clock.
 
Nevertheless, TWU was still blazing from the 3-point line as Moyer drained her third three of the game to put the Pioneers back up by two.
 
Moyer's three made UT-Tyler nervous, so they started to play the foul game down four, with one minute remaining.
 
TWU never stopped fighting in the final seconds. With 25 seconds on the clock, King stole the ball and Kayla Glover scored the wide-open lay-up to give the Pioneers a seven-point advantage.
 
The Patriots scored again, but it would not be enough. Woods hit a final free throw to seal TWU's sixth LSC win.
 
Moyer and Woods lead the way for the Pioneers with 13 points each. Ingram scored in double digits for the ninth consecutive game, finishing with 11 points. King added 10 points, two steals and five rebounds in the win.
 
Huffman provided the spark off the bench with eight points, and Glover scored two.
 
The Pioneers also outrebounded the Patriots 36 to 27. Every Pioneer who stepped on the floor recorded at least two rebounds. Ingram led TWU with seven boards, and Glover added six. King grabbed the most offensive rebounds for TWU, three, as the Pioneers had 10 second chance points.
 
In their defensive effort, TWU held the Patriots to just 26.3% from the 3-point line. On the other side, the Pioneers made nine threes, their most 3-point makes this season.
 
The Pioneers will stay on the road for their next Lone Star Conference game against Eastern New Mexico University on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m.