SAN ANTONIO – No. 5/6 Trinity University Women's Basketball made light work of Sul Ross State University, 91-56, in the 2022-23 home-opener in Calgaard Gym Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers (4-0) forced the Lobos (1-3) into 30 turnovers, the third time in the first four contests that Trinity has reached that mark, while the low-post defense swarmed for nine blocks on the afternoon led by a dominant showing from first-year
Elaine King (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park) with four rejections.
Senior
Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) led the way on the offensive end with 21 points—19 points through three quarters—which included a five-for-eight tally beyond the arc. Classmates
Claire Hale (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) and
Emily Nelson (Sugar Land, Texas / Saint Agnes) joined Milton in double-digits with 10 points apiece.
Both Hale and junior
Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) led the Tigers on the glass at seven rebounds apiece. Robbins finished the contest with eight assists, seven rebounds and five steals—all team-highs—in less than 20 minutes played.
No. 5/6 Trinity Women's Basketball hits the road again Tuesday for the first-half of a home-and-home with No. 18 Hardin Simmons University this week. The Tigers will host the other side of this week's pair of matchups with the Cowgirls Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., followed by LeTourneau University Sunday at 6 p.m.
The Rundown
Milton got things going with the first of her five three-pointers less than a minute in after Hale extended the Tigers' opening possession with an offensive rebound before kicking out to the prolific long-range scorer. Trinity reached out to an 8-0 start over the first two and-a-half minutes. The 8-0 start turned into a 15-2 run over the first seven and-a-half minutes, featuring four points from first-year
Natalie Anderson (San Jose, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty), leading to a 22-8 Trinity lead through the first 10 minutes.
Seven more points from Milton in the second helped to keep the Tigers notably far in front of the Lobos. The first 20-point lead was marked 13 minutes into the contest thanks to the fourth steal for Robbins to that point, which sprung Hale for a transition layup and the end of an 8-2 second-quarter opening run. Trinity nearly marked its first 30-point margin during the second period as well, reaching a 51-22 advantage on a floater from
A'Nnika Saenz (Edinburg, Texas / Edinburg) with 42 seconds to go.
Robbins marked both her fifth steal and seventh assist to conclude a 17-5 second-half opening run for the Tigers' largest lead through 30 minutes, 68-31, as Robbins found Milton for her fifth and final three-pointer to reach 19 points through 24 minutes on the game clock.
Trinity posted its largest lead of the game at two different points of the fourth quarter between a Saenz layup at 3:49 to go and a King free throw at 2:39.
Coach Speak
"Mötley Crüe is a legendary rock band who pioneered glam rock in the 80s," Head Coach
Cameron Hill began; "they also have a very interesting documentary on Netflix. To their credit, The Crüe didn't schedule the 'Togethers' during the making of that documentary! Great game for the whole team, great day to be Home Sweet Home!"
Up Next
Back-to-back matchups with No. 18 Hardin-Simmons in Abilene, Texas Tuesday and at home Saturday, followed by LeTourneau on Sunday represents the Thanksgiving week slate for No. 5/6 Women's Basketball this week.
The 2022-23 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season begins the following week in Shreveport, Louisiana at Centenary College on Friday, December 2. After the visit to University of St. Thomas two days later, the Tigers will have a four-game homestand that lasts through the holiday season.
