WHITTIER, Calif. – The Trinity University women's basketball team returned to action with its first game of a weekend road trip in Southern California on Thursday night, rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Whittier College (CA) 79-73.

The Tigers (1-1) handed the Poets (3-1) their first loss of the season despite trailing for nearly the entire game. Trinity led the minutes that mattered most, though, taking the lead for good with 4:32 remaining. The Tigers held the home team to 12 points in the fourth quarter, including just two points over the final 5:26 of the game to complete the comeback.

Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) and Bailey Timmons (Argyle, Texas / Argyle) led Trinity with 16 points each, with Timmons also pulling down a team-best nine rebounds. Minter connected on 4-of-9 three-pointers in the game and Timmons shot 7-of-14 from the field overall. Minter and Josie Napoli (Beaverton, Ore. / Valley Catholic) dished out five assists each, while Napoli also had 13 points, eight boards, and a team-leading four steals.

Jivana Caceres (Kyle, Texas / Hays) and Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) both reached double figures as well. Caceres scored 10 points in her first start and O'Rourke provided a huge lift off the bench with 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists. She also connected on 6-of-7 from the field with her only miss coming from beyond the arc.

Trinity shot 27.8% (10-for-36) from three-point range but hit 4-of-8 from distance in the final quarter. The Tigers also cashed in 20 turnovers for 17 points and held a 16-6 lead in fastbreak points for the game.

The Rundown
Trinity fell behind early as Whittier knocked in a pair of shots early to jump in front at the start of the first quarter. The Tigers led briefly with Minter following a three-pointer with a fastbreak layup to make it a 10-9 game, but the Poets went back in front with two free throws just 16 seconds later. Those foul shots began a 10-0 run for Whittier, but Trinity closed the quarter with six unanswered points, starting with a jump shot from O'Rourke seconds after coming into the game. Jailyn Martin (Ashburn, Va. / Virginia Academy) followed O'Rourke's bucket with one of her own, then Natalie Greenwood (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) scored in the final seconds to make it a 19-16 deficit after the opening quarter.

Whittier started the second quarter scoring with an and-one to double the lead, then the teams went back and forth for the next few minutes. The Tigers got within two a couple of times during that stretch, but back-to-back three-pointers for Whittier pushed the lead to 31-23 with 5:45 left until halftime. Two free throws from Napoli preceded a three-pointer from Milton and Trinity was back within reach. Caceres hit a shot to shrink the lead to just one (31-30) and after Whittier broke a streak of four straight missed field goals, Caceres hit a game-tying three-pointer to make it a 33-33 game with under four to go in the quarter. O'Rourke put Trinity in front 37-36 with under two minutes left, but Trinity's lead was once again short-lived as Whittier got another and-one with 1:18 remaining to take a 39-37 lead. O'Rourke tied things up on the next possession, but Whittier scored the final four points to lead 43-39 at the break.

An early three-pointer from Napoli turned out to be all Trinity scored in the first four minutes of the third quarter and Whittier scored eight straight points to take its biggest lead of the game at 53-42. Minter, Elaine King (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park), and O'Rourke all scored baskets over the next minute to cut the lead in half, but Whittier never trailed in the quarter and kept Trinity from coming all the way back. Timmons scored five straight Tiger points with under two minutes left in the quarter, but the Poets still held a 61-55 lead heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter began with two three-pointers from Whittier and the lead was back to double figures at 67-57 with 8:11 remaining in the game. The Tiger defense helped fuel the rally that started from there, as Whittier would score just six more points the rest of the way. Timmons hit a three to get the rally started, then Minter hit consecutive threes to make it a 69-68 deficit with 5:40 still left in the game. After Whittier scored to interrupt Minter's personal 6-0 run, Timmons hit back-to-back layups and the Tigers led 72-71. Napoli followed with a clutch three-pointer with 3:33 left, then hit two game-sealing free throws with 26.8 seconds left to make it a 77-71 game. That finished off a 9-0 run down the stretch that was only stopped by a layup for Whittier that was too little, too late. All told, the Tigers outscored the Poets 22-6 over the final eight-plus minutes to erase that 10-point deficit and win the game. Napoli scored Trinity's final seven points by sinking two more foul shots with 15.3 seconds on the clock, and the game was officially out of reach.

Coach Speak
"Tonight was a battle of conflicting ideologies," mused Head Coach Cameron Hill. "While the Poets favored Dylan Thomas and refused to go gently into that good night, the Togethers opted for Ice Cube, because well, 'today was a good day.' ONWARD."

Up Next
After a day off tomorrow, Trinity will be back on the court to take on the University of Redlands (CA) on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (PT), in Redlands, California.