SAN ANTONIO – The third-ranked Tiger women's basketball team earned a hard-fought 78-69 win over No. 14/20 University of Puget Sound on Wednesday afternoon in Calgaard Gymnasium.

Trinity improved to 11-0 with the win, while Puget Sound fell to 9-2 and had its seven-game winning streak snapped. The Tigers notched their second win over a nationally-ranked team this week, following Monday's win over No. 12/16 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. 

During the game, Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) became the 19th player in Trinity women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. The senior led all scorers with 25 points in the game, connecting on 10-of-15 from the field and 4-for-8 from three-point range. She also chipped in with five rebounds and a game-best five steals.

Claire Hale (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) was the only other Tiger player in double figures, scoring 18 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-10 at the foul line. She matched Milton's five rebounds and added three steals. Josie Napoli (Beaverton, Ore. / Valley Catholic) finished just short of double digits with nine points to go with a game-high seven assists.

Tonight's game was the final non-conference matchup of the season for Trinity. The Tigers are back on the court in eight days, taking on Schreiner University at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 29. It will be the final game of the calendar year for the Tigers.

The Rundown
Trinity controlled the tempo early in the game and took a 10-5 lead just before the first media timeout, as Milton knocked down her first points of the game by way of a three-pointer. Puget Sound took control after the timeout, scoring 10 unanswered points that were capped by back-to-back three-pointers. The Loggers took their first lead at 3:12 on the first of those long-range shots, then made it a 15-10 game with another triple at the 2:08 mark. The Tigers were held to just two points over the final 4:34 of the game, which broke up the scoring drought in the final minute, and led to the visitors leading 15-12 after one quarter.

Puget Sound scored the first five points of the second to take its largest lead of the game (22-14), less than two minutes into the quarter. Milton then led a Trinity rally by scoring five points during a 14-0 run that covered just over four minutes and put the Tigers in front 28-22. The Loggers broke up the run with a three-pointer that cut the lead in half, then hit another from distance at the buzzer to cut it to a 30-28 Trinity lead at the break.

After halftime, Trinity turned up the intensity with nine points in less than two minutes to start the third quarter. Hale started a 6-0 Trinity run with back-to-back layups and then Milton pushed the lead back to eight with five points of her own to make it a 39-31 game at the 8:04 mark.

Puget Sound then took its turn with an 11-0 run that put the Loggers back in front 42-39 less than three minutes later. Hale made one of her two foul shots on the next Trinity possession to end the team's scoring drought and an offensive rebound on the missed free throw led to a milestone shot for Milton. She knocked down a go-ahead three-pointer with 5:11 to go in the third quarter, which pushed her past 1,000 career points.

The teams went back and forth the rest of the quarter and Trinity took a 50-46 lead after back-to-back layups from Milton. She then broke a 52-all tie with another layup with 1:31 left in the third, but Puget Sound scored five points in the final 43 seconds of the quarter to take a 57-54 lead heading into the final period.

A pair of early free throws put Puget Sound up five (59-54) early in the fourth, but an 11-1 run by Trinity flipped the game once again. This time it was Hale leading the Tiger charge, scoring seven points and recording a pair of steals as Trinity took a 65-60 lead with more than seven minutes to play in the game. The Loggers got within three on its next possession but that was as close as they got the rest of the way. The lead was still three after Puget Sound scored with 5:43 remaining, but the Tigers finished strong with an 11-3 run that pushed the lead to 11 in the final seconds. Trinity outscored Puget Sound 24-12 in the final period to close out the win.

Numbers to Note
Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) finished with eight points and tied Addie Putnam (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Xavier College Prep) for the team lead with six rebounds each. Both players also had three assists, while Robbins contributed four steals and Putnam chipped in with six points.

Elaine King (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park) came off the bench with six points in 15 minutes, accounting for half of the team's bench scoring. Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown) grabbed five rebounds in limited minutes, finishing just one shy of the team lead.

Coach Speak
"This needs to be said first: I think Casey is one of the finest coaches in our game," said Head Coach Cameron Hill about Puget Sound Head Coach Casey Kushiyama. "He does it the right way and his kids compete with incredible belief in what they do. That says a lot about how they have been taught."

"Tonight felt like Rocky 2," continued Coach Hill. "Rocky and Apollo have developed a healthy respect for one another, but in the end, only one of them is left on their feet. This time it was us, but as the Rocky franchise has proven, there are many more to come and I look forward to each and every one."

Up Next
Trinity will host Schreiner University on Thursday, December 29, at 5:30 p.m., resuming the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference portion of the schedule.