ABILENE, Texas – Trinity's women's basketball team fell just short in a 65-63 loss at #14 Hardin-Simmons University on Friday night.

The Tigers and Cowgirls played an incredibly close game that featured 13 ties and 19 lead changes by the time the final whistle sounded.

Kelly Simmons (Washington, D.C. / Antonian College Prep) hit a go-ahead 15-footer from the top of the key with 25.5 seconds left to give Trinity a 63-62 lead. The Tiger defense then held for the next several seconds to force a timeout by the home team with 13.9 seconds remaining. Hardin-Simmons then hit the eventual game-winning three-pointer with 6.4 seconds to play. The final shot for the Tigers missed and the Cowgirls escaped with the win.

Hailey Coleman (Kansas City, Mo. / St. Teresa's Academy) finished with 18 rebounds in the game, which is the most since Libby Kruse notched 20 rebounds in a game against UC-Santa Cruz in December of 2013. Coleman picked up 11 of her 18 boards in the first half.

The Rundown

After falling behind 5-1 in the opening moments of the game, Trinity powered into the lead with a 12-2 run that included eight points from Ava Limonciello (Waltham, Mass. / St. Mark's School). The stretch that lasted just over three minutes gave the Tigers a 13-7 advantage over halfway through the period. Hardin-Simmons tied things up with a pair of three-pointers, then the teams traded two more buckets to end the quarter in a 15-15 tie.

After an early basket by Trinity to start the second, Hardin-Simmons took its first lead since early in the first quarter with a three-point play in the opening minute. Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) began a 7-0 Tiger run with her go-ahead three-pointer that eventually led to a 24-18 advantage for the visitors. The Cowgirls put together eight unanswered points of their own to get back in front and the teams once again traded points for several minutes.

Limonciello tied the game 28-28 with a pair of free throws at the 2:11 mark, Hardin-Simmons missed four shots and had three offensive rebounds for an extended possession that netted nothing. Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown) dropped in a go-ahead layup with 1:13 left until the half, assisted by Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano). Robbins then got a steal on the next possession and went in for a layup that was assisted by Shipley to make it a 32-28 Tiger lead that held until halftime.

The home team scored the first six points of the third quarter to regain the lead and the teams once again traded points and the lead for several possessions. Hardin-Simmons broke a 36-36 tie with a quick 5-0 spurt that gave them the lead with just over four minutes left in the quarter.

Trinity's answer came in the form of eight unanswered points that included back-to-back layups from Carly Leong (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto), and was finished off by another layup from Milton that made it a 44-41 game with 2:36 left in the third. Hardin-Simmons rallied back into the lead again, but the Tigers got the final points to take the lead heading into the fourth quarter. After the Cowgirls scored a three with 36 seconds left to make it a 46-48 deficit for the Tigers, Milton hit a three of her own to put Trinity in front 49-48 heading into the final quarter.

Hardin-Simmons scored the first five points of the final quarter to take control early, but Milton led a 5-0 Trinity run that tied the game again with 5:31 to go. Milton then gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening moments of the quarter with her jumper at the 2:05 mark. This time it was Trinity that had four chances to increase the lead after controlling the boards, but the Tigers failed to score and it remained a 61-60 game with less than a minute to play.

Hardin-Simmons scored with 40 seconds left and after a Trinity timeout, Simmons came into the game and knocked down her go-ahead jumper that set up the dramatic ending.

Numbers to Note

Milton led four Trinity players in double figures with a 16-point night, adding three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Robbins dished out a career-high seven assists to go with four steals and six points, while Leong led the Tiger bench with 10 points and three assists. Simmons was second only to Coleman with six boards, and her basket at the end of the game were her only points of the night.

Limonciello hit 4-of-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc on her way to a 12-point night, while Shipley added 11 points that included a 5-for-6 night at the foul line.

Coach Speak

"Learning from losing is never fun, but sometimes it's very necessary," admitted Head Coach Cameron Hill. "If Parris (Parmer) misses that shot at the end of the game, we are having a very different conversation about the same exact reality. We're very good. We're going to get a lot better. And we are going to learm from every single game we play this season!"

Up Next

Trinity remains in Abilene tonight and will take on McMurry University at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 13.