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UT Tyler avoids upset, knocks off Angelo State 64-57

Championship Central
 
By NICK EATMAN
 
FRISCO, Texas –  Entering the LSC Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed for the second straight year, UT Tyler made sure it had a different outcome this time around.

The Patriots used a dominant second quarter to take control but needed some clutch plays in fourth to hang on for a for an eventual 64-57 win over No. 6 seed Angelo State in Friday’s quarterfinal game at Comerica Center.

UT Tyler was knocked out a year ago in the quarterfinals to No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville, but there would be upset this time around.

After seeing a 21-point lead dwindled down to two in the final minutes, reserve guard Mariah Neal drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:45 to give the Patriots a 60-55 lead.

From there, UT Tyler made enough baskets and defensive stops to secure the win and survive ASU’s furious comeback.

UTT had five players in double figures, led by Polina Latysheva’s 18 points. Mileina Sablinskaite had 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Leila Davis scored 12, Neal, the LSC Sixth Woman of the Year, had 11 and KK Bass added 10.

The Patriots had a 12-0 run in the second quarter and led at the half 36-19. The lead was pushed to 21 at 42-21 with 8:13 left before ASU started to rally. Senior guard Landry Morrow, playing in her seventh career game in this tournament, led all scorers with 23 points, scoring 17 in the second half. All-LSC first-teamer Majik Esquivel also scored 12 of her 15 points in the second and the Rambelles trimmed the score to 57-55 on Esquivel’s 3-pointer.

But ASU would never get closer as the Patriots will be moving on, playing the winner of West Texas A&M/St. Mary’s at 8:30 on Saturday in the semifinals.

The Rambelles drop to 15-12 and will now hope for a bid in next week’s regional. ASU entered the weekend ranked 10th in the South Central region.
 
 UT Tyler Notes:
  • UT Tyler is now 5-4 in all-time LSC tournament games, becoming the fifth active school with a winning record in tournament play.
  • The Patriots are now one win away from advancing to their first-ever tournament final in the LSC Championship Tournament.
  • UT Tyler leads the LSC in steals per game with 12.8 and just exceeded the average with 13 against ASU.
  • Entering Friday’s game, UTT ranked last in the conference with a 33.9 rebounding average, but managed to out-board the Belles 36-27.
  • Hayley Cumming, a member of the LSC All-Freshman team, had three blocks and four steals in the win. Cumming set the UT Tyler single-game record with seven blocks in the regular-season finale against Texas A&M-International.
Angelo State Notes:
  • As an All-Tournament team selection as a freshman in 2023 when ASU won its last conference title, Morrow played her seventh and final game in today's LSC tournament quarterfinal.
  • After scoring 40 points in her six previous LSC Championship Tournament appearances, Morrow scored 23 vs. UT Tyler.
  • Majik Esquivel had a slow start, but picked up the scoring in the second half to finish with 15, just short of her 17.2 average that ranked second in the LSC. Esquivel also ranked fourth in minutes played at 33.5, but played just 27:17 due to early foul trouble.
  • ASU forced 28 turnovers by the Patriots, led by Morrow’s four steals.