SAN ANTONIO – The No. 4/5 Tiger women's basketball team opened up its part in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a 77-62 win over Texas Lutheran University in Saturday's first semifinal of the day.

Trinity improved to 25-1 this season with the win and will play in the SCAC Championship game for the 11th time overall. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs for the third time this year, sweeping the regular season series. Texas Lutheran ends its season with a 14-12 record.

The Tigers never trailed in the game and had a 10-point advantage by the midway point of the first quarter. That lead grew as high as 25 points in the third quarter as Trinity forced 26 total turnovers and held a 39-15 scoring advantage in points off of turnovers.

Ashlyn Milton (Amarillo, Texas / Amarillo) led all scorers with 20 points in the game, powered by a 6-for-10 shooting performance from three-point range. Milton also added four rebounds and three assists.

Maggie Robbins (Plano, Texas / Plano) nearly snagged her second triple-double of the season, collecting 12 points to go with six rebounds and eight steals. Her eight steals ties the SCAC Tournament record for a single game.  

Maggie Shipley (Arlington, Va. / Yorktown) hit 5-of-9 from the field on her way to a 14-point afternoon, while Addie Putnam (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Xavier College Prep) just missed a double-double with a team-leading eight rebounds alongside her 11 points scored.

Trinity and Colorado College will meet for the third straight time in the SCAC Tournament finale on Sunday at Noon. Trinity won 73-63 in 2021, then took last year's Championship game 50-45. Colorado College handed Trinity its only loss of the season, defeating the TU Tigers 70-64 in Colorado Springs on February 5.

The Rundown
After last week's down-to-the-wire affair in Calgaard Gym, the Together Tigers were ready for a fast start, immediately finding a pair of impactful deep balls from Milton. The yet-to-be-announced SCAC Player of the Year marked a 10-4 lead three minutes in, then two minutes later marked the first double-digit lead, 18-8, just ahead of the first media stoppage. Milton accounted for nine first-quarter points as she opened her hot shooting with the first of three long-range strikes just a minute after tip.
 
The scoring was evenly distributed in the second stanza as Milton and Napoli each found another three-pointer alongside Robbins and Putnam for three points apiece in the second 10 minutes. Robbins's second and third makes from the charity stripe logged Trinity's largest lead to that point, 35-18, just past the midway point. By halftime, Robbins had already tallied seven steals out of Texas Lutheran's 18 first-half turnovers.
 
Milton's unwavering success from deep continued in the third as the senior dropped one more in for Tigers' largest lead of the contest, 48-23, with still over 17 minutes to play. On the very next possession, Robbins joined Milton in double figures on Napoli's third assist. Putnam was third across the double-digit threshold just ahead of the third-quarter media break, which was triggered by an and-one she would convert.
 
Shipley was next in line in double-digits just after the final quarter break as she went solo from her own steal. The next Trinity bucket—Milton's sixth made three-ball—represented the end of the 20-point barrage from the Amarillo-native and represented the final blow that allowed the Togethers to ride away for another SCAC Championship final appearance.

Coach Speak
"Ken Miles: One of my favorite movie characters, played by Christian Bale" began Head Coach Cameron Hill. "As true a story as we can ask for out of Hollywood these days. He drove race cars for Ford and beat Ferrari at Le Mans. What separates him, in my opinion, was his unrelenting commitment to his truth. And he was the finest driver of his time. That is what you get with this team. These women are only concerned with winning. A Ken Miles mentality. Can't wait for tomorrow. The gas tank is full and we are ready to go."

Up Next
Trinity and Colorado College meet in the SCAC Championship game on Sunday, February 26, at 12:00 p.m. The winner receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs, with the full tournament field being announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, February 27, at 2:30 p.m. (ET).