SAN ANTONIO – The Tiger women's basketball team finished off the 2021 calendar year with a 75-57 home victory over LeTourneau University on Thursday afternoon.

Trinity has now won seven consecutive games to improve its record to 8-2, while LeTourneau falls to 7-4 with the loss. The Tiger defense held LeTourneau under 33% shooting for the game and forced 19 turnovers that led to 19 points. Trinity dominated in the paint, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 40-16 from inside.

Hailey Coleman (Kansas City, Mo. / St. Teresa's Academy) notched her second straight double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, connecting on 11-of-15 from the floor. She was one of three Tigers in double figures in the game, and the team hit 48.4% of its shots.

The Rundown

The first quarter was truly a back-and-forth affair as there were seven lead changes in the opening 10 minutes of play – the last of which came with just 0.4 seconds left, and gave Trinity a narrow 18-17 lead. The Tigers led 10-5 early, but LeTourneau scored six straight to take the lead with 4:24 remaining in the period. Trinity led by three in the closing minutes, but LeTourneau scored a pair of late buckets to lead 17-16 with under 10 seconds remaining. Bailey Timmons (Argyle, Texas / Argyle) drew a foul on a three-point attempt just before the buzzer, then hit 2-of-3 at the line to put the Tigers in front.

Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, combining for just 26 points. Trinity scored five quick points to expand its lead to 23-17, but LeTourneau snagged seven of the ensuing nine points scored over a five-minute stretch and pulled within one point. A Tiger free throw made it a two-point game with just over three minutes left in the half, but the visitors answered with a go-ahead three-pointer. Both teams held leads over the final three minutes, but LeTourneau got the final points with 90 seconds remaining to lead 31-30 at the break.

Trinity came out of the locker room on fire, using a 12-2 run over the first five-plus minutes to take a nine-point lead. LeTourneau got no closer than six the rest of the way. After trading scores over the final few minutes of the third quarter, the Tigers scored twice in the final minute to take a 50-40 lead into the final period.

The lead was just eight less than a minute into the fourth quarter when Trinity buried the visitors with an extended run that put the game out of reach. The scoring streak started with seven unanswered points by the Tigers, then eventually turned into a 16-2 spurt. That stretch put Trinity on top 70-48 with just 3:38 remaining. The Tigers cooled off after that with just five more points the rest of the way, but the Yellow Jackets were also held to just three more field goals – two of which came in the final 1:25 of the game.

Numbers to Note

Coleman picked up her sixth career double-double, including her third this season. She was also just one point shy of her career-high, recording her fourth career 20-point game.

Timmons hit 5-for-10 from the field on her way to a career-high 13 points, while Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) scored 10 points to go with six rebounds.

Julia Ackerman (Orange County, Calif. / JSerra Prep) went for seven points along with four rebounds and three assists in just her second game of the season. She has now registered 284 career assists with the Tigers, which moves her to sixth on the all-time list at Trinity. Only four players in school history have reached 300 assists in a career.

Kelly Simmons (Washington, D.C. / Antonian) finished with six points and six rebounds in the game, while setting a new career-high with six assists to lead the team.

Coach Speak

"Scrabble is a great game," began Head Coach Cameron Hill. "When we first learn to play, we focus on our letters. Then we figure out how to use the other players' letters as well. In the end, it's a game that teaches us to critically think and use all of the resources available to you. This was a game where we used what we had, we learned from what they did, and we figured out how to spell W-I-N."

Up Next

After closing out 2021, the Tiger women will also have the pleasure of opening 2022 by hosting Howard Payne University on Sunday, January 2, at 3:00 p.m.