SAN ANTONIO - The Trinity women's basketball team opened up the 2024-25 season with a 58-45 loss to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday night.

This loss marks the end of an eight-game win streak against the Crusaders, dating back to the 2010-11 season. The Tigers were led by junior Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) who collected 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. After a promising start, Trinity struggled to maintain any real offensive momentum in the second half of the game, finishing at 24.6% from the field and shooting just 10.5% from beyond the three-point line.
 
The Rundown 
The Tigers' initial charge was headed by Minter, who had 8 first quarter points and went 5-6 from the free throw line. Both teams exchanged baskets in the early stages of the game, before a pair of fast break layups from Jivana Caceres (Kyle, Texas / Hays) and Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) gave Trinity their first lead with just over a minute to play in the first period. Sophomore Ivory Scott then made a layup of her own with just one second on the clock, giving her team the 21-16 lead going into the second quarter.
 
After going 0-2 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, Josie Napoli (Beaverton, Ore. / Valley Catholic) cashed her first three of the season at the beginning of the second. Minter and Napoli, two All-SCAC selections in the 2023-24 season, continued to make things happen for the Tigers, after a basket-a-piece stretched their lead to 10 points with 6 minutes to go before the half. UMHB clawed their way back as the quarter went on, scoring an important three with just 4 seconds left, making the half-time score 33-27 to Trinity.
 
The beginning of the third period marked the beginning of the Tigers' downfall, as they would go on to score just 12 points in the second half of the game. A combination of foul trouble and poor shooting from Trinity meant that the Crusaders would regain the lead with 02:55 on the clock, a lead they would maintain for the remainder of the game.
 
The struggles unfortunately continued for Trinity in the game's final quarter, making just one field goal and missing 12 consecutive three-point shots. Both teams struggled offensively as the clock ticked down, with neither team making a field goal in the final 3 minutes of the game. UMHB's fast start to the final two quarters were enough to win them the game, with the final score being 58-45.
 
Coach Speak
"Clubber Lang was one of the greatest characters in movie history," began Head Coach Cameron Hill. "He represented everything that Rocky had forgotten to be. While Rocky was enjoying his nice house and fancy cars, Clubber Lang was shadow boxing in a leaky basement. While Rocky was training in his hotel lobby and selling tee shirts, Clubber Lang was watching fight footage on a reel to reel. Point is, sometimes we get distracted by all we have accomplished. We lose sight of what makes a real champion. Tonight we got a swift reminder that Clubber Lang is actually real. We have to make some tough choices that will determine what happens in the rematch. ONWARD!"

Up Next
A trip to California awaits the Tigers as they kick-off a 5-game road stretch as they face off against Whittier on Thursday, November 21st. They will then play Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps that Saturday and Sunday. Trinity's next home game is set for December 14th where they will host Dallas Christian at 7:30pm.