SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity women's basketball team earned its eighth consecutive victory by defeating Howard Payne University 90-58 on Monday evening.

The Tigers improved to 9-2 on the year, while Howard Payne dropped to 3-11. Trinity held Howard Payne to 29% shooting overall and forced 20 turnovers.

Carly Leong (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto) scored her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, tying Kelly Simmons (Washington, D.C. / Antonian) for the team lead in boards. Simmons also added eight points on 4-for-6 shooting.

The Rundown

Trinity led by four points early, but Howard Payne hung in with the home team for most of the quarter. The Tigers took control with nine straight points over the final 3:38 of the period to take a 22-12 lead. Simmons led the scoring spurt with six points in the final 1:26 of the quarter.

The second quarter began with the Yellow Jackets cutting that lead in half over the first two-plus minutes, but the Tigers dominated the period after that. Trinity rattled off 19 consecutive points to turn a five-point lead into 41-17 game with just under two minutes left in the half. Howard Payne broke up the streak after that, but the Tigers led 43-20 at the break.

The Tigers pushed the lead to 29 points early in the third quarter, then answered two Howard Payne free throws with a 9-0 run to take a 60-24 lead at the midway point. The lead grew as large as 38 points and Trinity took a 73-39 lead into the final period.

The lead was no less than 29 points the rest of the way. Howard Payne wound up outscoring Trinity 19-17 in the final quarter, but the game was out of reach by then.

Numbers to Note

Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) led the Tigers with 17 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists.

Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown) added 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, pulling down six rebounds and tying her career-high with a team-best four steals.

Jennifer Tierney (Orinda, Calif. / Miramonte) rounded out four Tiger players in double figures, hitting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc on her way to a career-high 10 points. She added three rebounds and a career-best three steals.

Ally Beck (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) set a new career-high with six points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers in three attempts.

Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) and Ava Limonciello (Waltham, Mass. / St. Mark's School) led the team with four assists each, and the Tiger team finished with 23 assists on 32 baskets.

Coach Speak

"Tonight was fun," said Head Coach Cameron Hill. "I was overwhelmed with pride watching our team make a real time adjustment to a very difficult hurdle. We are learning the things that only life can teach us. The game was what it was, but the way we once again represented our program and this university with poise under the most unique circumstances I have seen in my lifetime, that was extra special."

Up Next

Trinity will resume Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play by hosting the University of Dallas on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.