GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Tiger women's basketball team won its 14th consecutive game with an 80-56 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference road win over Southwestern on Tuesday night.

Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown) led Trinity with a career-high 29 points in the game, including a 12-point third quarter that equaled the scoring output of the entire Pirates team during that period. She hit 14-of-23 from the field to go with nine rebounds and three steals.

Trinity improved to 15-2 overall and remains unbeaten atop the SCAC standings with an 8-0 record. The Tigers will be back on the road again this weekend, facing off against Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. The winner of Saturday's game will take sole possession of first place in the conference standings as both the Tigers and Bulldogs are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the SCAC.

The Rundown

After a back-and-forth start to the game that saw both teams hold brief leads, Trinity exploded for 17 unanswered points in a streak that lasted just over six minutes and put the Tigers in front 20-4. Shipley and Hailey Coleman (Kansas City, Mo. / St. Teresa's Academy) scored four points each during the stretch, while Ava Limonciello (Waltham, Mass. / St. Mark's) hit a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to lead the way during the run. Southwestern broke it up with just under three minutes left in the quarter, though the Tigers still led 23-10 after the opening 10 minutes.

Combined with the last three points of the first quarter and an 8-0 to start the second period, Southwestern cut the lead to just five points with more than seven minutes remaining in the half. Trinity was never able to get the lead back to double figures in the quarter, which eventually ended with Southwestern outscoring the Tigers 22-14. The initial burst by the Pirates held, and Trinity's lead was just 37-32 at halftime.

Trinity started the second half scoring with a pair of buckets, but Southwestern answered back. The lead was still five at the midway point of the third quarter when the Tigers put together a 15-1 stretch that was capped by a three-pointer from Emily Nelson (Sugar Land, Texas / Saint Agnes) to make it a 58-39 game with under two minutes left in the period. Shipley had six of her 12 points during that run that essentially put the game out of reach. The Tiger defense held the home team to just 12 points in the period and five of those came in the final 1:45 and Trinity led 60-44 heading into the fourth.

The final period began with five straight Tiger points to push the advantage past 20, which was where it stayed most of the quarter. The lead went as high as 27 points following six straight Trinity points, and the Tigers went on to outscore the Pirates 20-12 in the final period.

Numbers to Note

Trinity forced 33 turnovers on 20 steals in the game, holding Southwestern to just 30% shooting from the floor. The Tigers outscored the Pirates 43-3 in points off turnovers and 54-26 on points in the paint.

Shipley's career-high 29 points marks her fourth 20-point game of the season – three of which have come in the last six games. She has scored in double figures in 14 straight games.

Coleman and Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) were the only other Trinity players to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points each. Coleman also had four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a career-high five blocks.

Nelson and Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) finished with eight points each. Nelson also had four assists and four steals to lead the Tigers in both categories, while Limonciello tied Nelson for the team lead with four steals.

Coach Speak

"The Goonies had that 'you won't take our homes' kind of focus tonight," said Head Coach Cameron Hill. "No matter how many booby traps One-Eyed Willy set for them, they outsmarted him and found a way to move forward. They found a way to win. In the end, they found the rich stuff, saved the goon docks, and they laughed in the face of the pirates who tried to get in their way."

Up Next

Trinity will take on Texas Lutheran in another SCAC road game on Saturday, January 29, at 6:00 p.m.