DENTON, Texas (March 15, 2026) - Texas Woman's basketball clinched their spot in the NCAA DII South Central Regional Final after defeating the UCCS Mountain Lions for a second time this season to advance to the championship round of the tournament with a 70-59 win at Kitty Magee Arena on Saturday night.

UCCS (22-11, 15-5) was better prepared for the rematch, playing TWU (31-1, 20-0) to a much closer first half, with the Pioneers leading 36-28 heading into the third. Momentum would inch TWU's way, however, as a double-digit lead was established early in the third period to eventually cruise to the 11-point win.

Key to the Pioneers' success was their accuracy from beyond the arc, a season-high 10 threes made, converting 10 of 19 attempts for a 52.6% clip, their third-best percentage this season and the fourth overall with at least half of all attempts made. TWU excelled at the free-throw line as well, making 80% of its attempts.

Tonight's game was the fourth all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Mountain Lions, as well as their first postseason matchup, with TWU the winner in all four matchups.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Jada Celsur led the team in scoring with 19 points, three shy of her season best. Celsur shot 7-for-11 from the field, sank a trio of threes and made both free-throw attempts. The senior tallied seven defensive rebounds and recorded a pair of steals.

• Averee Kleinhans recorded 16 points in the win, shooting 50% from the field, sinking four treys and making both free-throw attempts. Kleinhans added four rebounds and one blocked shot on defense as well.

• Madi Lumsden tallied 10 points in the game, including a pair of threes. The junior added a defensive rebound as well.

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

• TWU opened the scoring a little over a minute into the game, with a tip-in by Gabby Elliott increasing the lead to 4-0 with 7:56 on the clock. The Mountain Lions were up to the task, however, scoring a pair of consecutive baskets of their own to tie the game about a minute and a half later, setting in motion a gridlocked opening period of play. Three of Kleinhans' four treys would be scored in this period to fire up the crowd, but UCCS had answers for whatever was thrown at them. TWU, however, maintained a slim 15-14 lead by the end of this neck-and-neck period.

• More close action opened the second period, with neither team scoring back-to-back baskets until a Lumsden trey at 5:23 on the clock was followed by a pair of Hadyn Collie free throws to increase the lead to eight, with the score 32-24 Pioneers with over three and a half minutes to play. TWU's lead for the remainder of this period would not grow to more than eight, but considering the multiple one-basket margins prior to the 5-0 run, it was the earliest sign of the host team seizing control of the game. A jumper by Celsur with four seconds on the clock sent the Pioneers to the half with a 36-28 lead.

• It took less than half a minute for the Pioneers to establish their first double-digit lead of the game to open the third period, as a pair of Elliott free throws pushed the TWU lead to 38-28. A Mountain Lion layup would dip the lead back below double digits, but Kleinhans' fourth trey of the game pushed the lead back up to 11 at 41-30 with nine minutes remaining, and the Pioneers would establish control of the game by maintaining the double-digit margin until the final buzzer. UCCS would conclude the third period's scoring on a 6-0 run, but TWU still maintained a 13-point lead, up 55-42 heading into the final period.

• The Mountain Lions opened the fourth period's scoring 20 seconds in, but the Pioneers responded with Kleinhans fouled on a layup for the and-one, followed by a Jaylee Moss trey to grow the lead to 17 with the score 61-44 a little over a minute into the period. Both offenses played more freely, with only one other instance of a non-consecutive, non-free throw basket made in the remainder of the game. The Mountain Lions would outscore the Pioneers in the fourth 17-15, but it was not enough to overcome their double-digit deficit, with TWU taking the 70-59 win, an 11-point margin.

NEXT UP
The Pioneers are through to the championship game of the South Central Regional tournament and will face a fellow top-five nationally ranked team when they take on the third seeded Colorado Mesa Mavericks. Tipoff at KMA is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday night.

-PIONEERS-