IRVING, Texas – The Trinity University women's basketball team overcame a slow start to earn a 77-73 victory over the University of St. Thomas (TX) in the first round of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon.

The Tigers improved to 15-11 this season with the win, while the Celts (14-10) had their 11-game winning streak snapped with the loss. Trinity is in the SCAC Tournament Semifinals for the 13th straight season and has a 38-12 record in the tournament. This was the first meeting between Trinity and St. Thomas in tournament play and the Celts fall to 0-3 all-time in the conference event. The win for the Tigers also avenges a regular season loss to the Celts, evening the series between the two teams for the season.

Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) poured in a career-high 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting that included a 6-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. The six three-pointers made ties Minter's career-high, which she set less than two weeks ago. She also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Minter scored 16 of her 28 points in the fourth quarter, hitting all six of her field goals and connecting on four three-pointers to lead the Tigers to the win.

Josie Napoli (Beaverton, Ore. / Valley Catholic) picked up a double-double with 16 points and a career-high 12 assists, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-8 from distance. Her 12 assists is also tied for the SCAC record for a tournament game, tying with former Tiger Lauren Andrews, who set the record in 2007. Livy Sauvageau (Houston, Texas / Second Baptist) made the most of her second start of the season – her first since the end of December – by scoring 17 points, as well as recording three steals and three assists. Natalie Greenwood (Roanoke, Texas / Byron Nelson) pulled down seven rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench, while Elaine King (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park) finished with six points, five boards, and a pair of blocks. Bailey Timmons (Argyle, Texas / Argyle) also had six points and six rebounds to go with a pair of steals.

The Rundown
Trinity knocked down its first three-pointer of the game for a brief lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but the Tigers missed their next 11 shots from beyond the arc, and St. Thomas took advantage to lead by as many as 10 points (15-5) in the period. The Tigers made it a three-point deficit at 8-5 near the six-minute mark, but then went on a scoring drought that nearly lasted the rest of the quarter. Timmons scored in the final minute to cut it to a 15-7 game after the first period.

The second quarter was a much different story for Trinity, which scored 12 of the first 16 points of the period and used a 7-0 flurry at the end to tie the game 19-19 with less than seven minutes left in the half. The Celts went back in front with a three-pointer on their next possession and had the lead at 25-21 past the midway part of the second quarter. Minter and Sauvageau hit consecutive threes after that to put Trinity back in front 27-25, but UST tied things up again with a quick bucket with 3:40 to go before halftime. The Tigers then got back-to-back layups from Greenwood and Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) to ease back in front with under three minutes to play, and St. Thomas got the final score to make it a 31-29 at the break. Minter scored eight of Trinity's 24 points in the quarter, while Sauvageau picked up seven points, and Napoli scored five points and dished out four assists.

The third quarter started with three quick buckets from Timmons, Minter, and Sauvageau for the Tigers to take an eight-point lead and force a timeout less than two minutes into the period. Trinity kept the pressure up after the timeout and had the lead up to 44-32 at the midway point after Napoli buried a three-pointer. The lead was still 12 with just over two minutes left when St. Thomas closed with a 13-0 run that gave the Celts a 50-49 lead by the end of the quarter.

Both teams produced their best quarter to close out the game, but Trinity's 30-point explosion earned them the win. Minter gave Trinity a brief lead by hitting the first bucket of the period, but St. Thomas scored five unanswered to lead by four in the opening minutes. Sauvageau buried a three-pointer and converted a fastbreak layup on back-to-back plays for a five-point swing of her own that put the Tigers back in front for good with nearly seven minutes remaining. The game was far from over, though, and that's when Minter went off. She scored 14 of her 16 points in the quarter in a stretch of less than six minutes, and 14 of the team's 21 points during a critical stretch that clinched the win. Minter and the Tigers had an answer every time St. Thomas made a shot, keeping the Celts from gaining any momentum for a comeback. Her final shot put the finishing touches on the game, hitting a dagger three with under a minute to play, giving Trinity a 77-72 lead. Napoli had a huge three of her own with just over two minutes left to put the Tigers up four at the time, then buried two free throws with 22 seconds left to finish off the win.

Coach Speak
"On the way to Dallas, we watched The Hunger Games," said Head Coach Cameron Hill. "Wild concept, but pretty appropriate for this time of year. Good news for us, the stakes aren't quite as severe, it's just win or go home. St. Thomas had a solid plan with some official allies, but in the end we had the girl on fire! Love this time of year! ONWARD!"

Up Next
Trinity will play McMurry University (TX) on Saturday, March 1, at 2:00 p.m. McMurry received a first-round bye after winning the SCAC Gold Division title. The winner will advance to the SCAC Championship game at Noon on Sunday, March 2.