SAN ANTONIO – No. 4/4 Trinity University Women's Basketball returned fire in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference competition Friday night with a 109-47 victory over University of Dallas to open its season-ending four-game homestand.
 
The Tigers (21-1, 12-1 SCAC) had six players score in double-figures in the return to Calgaard Gym, led by senior Claire Hale (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) with 18, two shy of her career high which was set twice this season in non-conference play.
 
First-year Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) led the remainder of the double-digit scorers—with a career-high 12 points—as one of two to do so from the bench with sophomore A'Nnika Saenz (Edinburg, Texas / Edinburg). Junior Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) added 11 points along with 10-point outputs from senior Addie Putnam (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Xavier) and sophomore Josie Napoli (Beaverton, Ore. / Valley Catholic).
 
Robbins and O'Rourke made large strides toward Trinity's eighth game with 20-plus steals as they each contributed four takeaways to the 24 total logged by the Tigers.
 
First-year Natalie Anderson (San Jose, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty) racked up seven rebounds in just-under 13 minutes off the bench to lead the way for the game on the boards while Hale and Napoli each tallied six.
 
No. 4/4 Trinity Women's Basketball returns to Calgaard Gym Saturday afternoon for a 4:00 p.m. tip with Austin College to finish the weekend.
 
The Rundown
The Crusaders stood in through the first eight minutes as the Tigers mustered only a 12-11 advantage before Saenz's first strike from three-point range sent the final warning shot with under 90 seconds in the opening frame. The sophomore's bucket opened up an 85-second 8-0 run for the 20-11 first quarter.
 
A second Saenz deep ball marked the first 20-point advantage of the night, 39-17, under the two-minute mark in the second quarter. Hale and fellow senior Emily Nelson (Sugar Land, Texas / Saint Agnes) combined for 15 in the quarter, marking seven of Nelson's nine points for the contest in just the final 3:30 of the second frame including a three-pointer in the final seconds to log the first 30-point spread, 49-18.
 
At the half, Hale already reached double-figures with 13 points while O'Rourke had already collected all four of her steals, double the next-closest Tiger through 20 minutes though the team had managed 15 of its 24 steals by that time.
 
A Robbins free throw 24 seconds before the third-quarter media break posted the first 40-point advantage, 64-24, putting her in position to be the second Tiger into double-figures but Napoli burst into the scoring column with eight in the third, capped by her second three of the frame less than a minute after Robbins's ninth point from the line. Saenz checked into double-figures with over a minute to go in the quarter.
 
Hale closed the book on her scoring with a successful and-one less than two minutes into the fourth, with only Napoli and Saenz as the other double-digit scorers at the time. On back-to-back possessions, Robbins capitalized on a Dallas turnover to reach her 11 then Putnam cashed in from deep for the first 50-point advantage, 91-39.
 
At that time, O'Rourke had only tallied four of her bench-high 12. In the final four-plus minutes, the Tiger rookie notched three finishes underneath, one of which led to a converted and-one. O'Rourke's final point of the night came from the line to mark Trinity's largest margin of 63, 109-46 with 71 seconds left.
 
Coach Speak 
"The Hangover," Head Coach Cameron Hill opened abruptly: "A great film about brotherhood, problem solving, and dentistry on a budget. Hangovers are also real. So, word to the wise, be sure you can handle the ride."
 
"Tonight, our wolfpack showed up locked in," Hill pivoted. "We played hard, we had fun, and we reminded ourselves how special we are. Ready for another great performance tomorrow. Onward."
 
Up Next
No. 4/4 Trinity Women's Basketball hosts Austin for more SCAC action Saturday, followed by the final regular-season weekend February 17-18 with Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University in San Antonio.
 
The 2023 SCAC Championship will also be hosted by Trinity, February 24-26, with the top six in the league to qualify.