SHERMAN, Texas – The 15th-ranked Trinity women's basketball team secured the program's ninth overall Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship with a 50-45 win in the SCAC Tournament final against Colorado College on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers stand 25-2 on the season and have won 24 consecutive games. With the win, Trinity receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs and the Tigers will find out the details during the NCAA Selection Show tomorrow.

Tournament Most Valuable Player Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) was the only Trinity Tiger to reach double figures in the game, scoring a team-leading 14 points on 4-of-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line. The sophomore also added five rebounds and two assists in her 29 minutes of action.

Also making the All-Tournament Team for Trinity were juniors Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) and Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown). Shipley finished with eight points and five boards in tonight's game, while Milton drilled 6-of-10 from three-point range on her way to a game-high 25 points in yesterday's SCAC Tournament Semifinal win over Austin College.

The Rundown

Trinity opened the game with a slight edge on the scoreboard, hitting back-to-back shots for a 5-2 lead; however, Colorado College controlled the game early, using a 10-0 run to pull in front 12-5 and holding the lead the rest of the period. The Tigers broke up that streak with a pair of buckets with under four minutes left in the first, then drew within three points again approaching the two-minute mark. Colorado College scored the final five points of the period, though, leading 19-11 after one.

The second quarter turned out to be an extremely low-scoring period as neither team reached double digits. Both teams failed to score a field goal until Colorado College knocked down a three-pointer nearly four minutes into the quarter to take a 23-12 lead. That advantage inched up to 12 approaching the midway point of the quarter and the Tiger offense finally got a little momentum going late in the period. Trinity scored the final six points of the period, forcing three straight turnovers to cut the lead in half with 1:59 remaining. Neither team would score again, though, and Colorado College took the 26-20 advantage into halftime.

Both teams continued to struggle shooting after halftime, but Trinity was able to get some momentum at the free throw line to spark a 10-0 run to start the third quarter. That run extended through the midway point of the period and featured six points from Robbins. Colorado College finally scored a pair of foul shots to get on the board in the third quarter, cutting Trinity's lead to 30-28.

Colorado College's first field goal of the period came with under three minutes to play, which began a run of five straight points to give the CC Tigers a narrow 33-32 lead. The teams traded leads from there and Emily Nelson (Sugar Land, Texas / Saint Agnes Academy) hit a three-pointer with 60 seconds left to tie things up. Colorado College got the final point of the third quarter to take a slim 38-37 margin into the final period.

The defenses continued to dictate the game in the fourth quarter and were certainly instrumental in determining the outcome of the game. Both teams held small leads early in the period, then Colorado College tied things up 41-41 with 7:06 left in the game. It was more than two minutes on the game clock before either team scored again and it was Colorado College with a long-range two-point bucket that snagged the 43-41 lead with under five to play.

Kelly Simmons (Washington, D.C. / Antonian) answered in a huge way with a wing three-pointer that put Trinity on top and the Tigers never trailed again. Colorado College missed a go-ahead three-pointer, then failed to convert a pair of free throws after an offensive rebound to keep Trinity in front.

Hailey Coleman (Kansas City, Mo. / St. Teresa's Academy) stepped in the way of an entry pass in the paint to force another Colorado College turnover and Trinity had the ball back with just over three minutes to go. Robbins drew a foul and made 1-of-2 at the line to give Trinity a 45-43 lead, then Coleman thwarted another chance by Colorado College with a block at the rim to keep Trinity ahead.

After the Robbins free throw with three minutes left, neither team scored again until banked in a short runner with 29 seconds left to give Trinity a four-point cushion. Colorado missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul with 16.4 seconds left. Trinity missed both free throws and the game was still not quite over. Once again it was the Trinity defense that came up big, forcing a backcourt violation on the next possession and forcing Colorado College to foul with 7.3 seconds left. Simmons calmly strolled to the line and nailed both foul shots to seal the win.  

Numbers to Note

Simmons finished with nine points overall, including five down the stretch and the go-ahead three-pointer in the fourth quarter.

Coleman, who was announced as the SCAC Player of the Year last night, finished with six points, five rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and three steals.

Trinity forced 25 turnovers in the game, giving up the ball only 14 times themselves. The TU Tigers had a 23-14 edge in points off turnovers.

After Colorado College took its largest lead of the game at 26-14 with 5:08 to play in the second quarter, Trinity outscored its opponent 36-19 over the final 25-plus minutes.

Coach Speak

"Coming to the SCAC Tournament has become a lot like Bill Murray's life in Groundhog Day - only awesome," said Head Coach Cameron Hill after leading the team to its sixth SCAC title in his 10 seasons. "Playing in the SCAC Tournament has been a lot like Bill Murray's life in Caddyshack: we just do the dirty work with a positive can-do attitude because we know we have total consciousness to look forward to. Leaving the SCAC Tournament has been a lot like the Ghostbusters Bill Murray: we came, we saw, we...well, you know. Go Tigers."

Up Next

Trinity will begin its run in the NCAA Playoffs next weekend, with the official bracket and host sites being revealed on Monday afternoon. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled to air at 1:30 p.m. (CT).