BELTON, Texas – The Tiger women's basketball team bounced back from a season-opening setback with a 74-61 win over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Sunday evening.

Trinity stands 1-1 on the season after a narrow loss to second-ranked East Texas Baptist University in last night's action at the UMHB Tournament.

Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown) had one of her best games in a Tiger uniform, leading the team to victory with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with a game-best five assists. Shipley hit 5-for-9 from the field and 6-of-8 shots at the free throw line on her way to tying for the team-high in points.

The Tigers trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second half, but turned it around with a solid finish to the third quarter that ended with Trinity leading by two points. The visitors carried that momentum into the final frame, outscoring UMHB 23-12 to close out the final 10 minutes of a convincing win.

The Rundown

The two teams were evenly matched in a low-scoring first quarter, though UMHB did edge in front by four points late in the period. Trinity finished with four unanswered to tie the game at 14-14 on a pair of layups from Kelly Simmons (Washington, D.C. / Antonian College Prep) and Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano).

The Crusaders were back in the lead early in the second quarter, then increased the lead to seven points with just over four minutes left in the half. As the clock neared two minutes, Trinity made a quick 6-0 run that finished with a Simmons three-pointer and two foul shots from Carly Leong (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto). UMHB got two free throws in the final seconds to account for the 31-28 halftime margin.

The second half began with Mary Hardin-Baylor scoring nine of the 11 points over the first 3:15 of the quarter to make it a 40-30 lead for the home team. That's when the Tigers made their move that changed the direction of the game.

Shipley scored seven points during a 12-2 Trinity run that also included a clutch three-pointer from Hailey Coleman (Kansas City, Mo. / St. Teresa's Academy), and the game was tied 42-42 with 4:15 remaining in the quarter. Trinity's first lead since the first quarter came nearly three minutes later, but the Crusaders were back in front on their next possession. Leong made a layup to answer right back and Coleman hit 1-of-2 at the line to put the Tigers in front 51-49 at the end of the third.

Trinity's run continued into the fourth quarter and was eventually stopped after nine straight points. After breaking up the streak, UMHB saw Coleman score four straight points for Trinity's first double-digit lead at 61-51. The lead was never less than seven points the rest of the way.

Mary Hardin-Baylor trailed by seven with the ball just under 90 seconds remaining, but after a missed layup by the home team, Leong iced the win with a three-pointer to push the lead back to 10 with just 1:02 left in the game. Trinity then made 5-of-6 at the line in the final minute to seal the win.

Numbers to Note

Coleman tied Shipley for the team lead with 16 points scored, hitting 5-of-8 from the field and 5-of 6 at the foul line. She also added eight rebounds and a pair of steals.

Robbins led three Tiger bench players in double figures with a 14-point night, sparking Trinity to a 39-26 edge in bench scoring. Leong added 13 points that included a 6-for-6 performance at the line, while Simmons finished with 12 points and seven boards. Robbins and Simmons also tied Coleman for the team lead with two steals each.

Trinity had a strong showing at the foul line tonight, hitting 24-of-32 for a 75.0% clip, and a 10-point differential in free throws made. The Tigers also limited themselves to just 13 turnovers.

Coach Speak

"This weekend was about creating a default mentality for the season," revealed Head Coach Cameron Hill. "We need to play really good teams who are capable of beating us so that our baseline competitive energy becomes elite, regardless of who we play moving forward. We did that tonight. We did that this weekend. This was a very good trip for us and we are excited to get home!"

Up Next

Trinity will be back on the road in Abilene, Texas, next weekend to take on both Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University. The Tigers begin the road trip against Hardin-Simmons on Friday, November 13, at 5:30 p.m.