JACKSON, Miss. – The Trinity women's basketball team (9-7, 5-0 SAA) stayed hot today, defeating Millsaps College (11-5, 2-3 SAA) 68-56 to take their fifth win in a row, and their third by double-digits.

The Tigers capitalized on Millsaps' turnover troubles, which have been a problem for them all year. The Majors gave up 20 turnovers, which Trinity was able to turn into 28 points on the other end, while Millsaps was only able to create 4 points of the Tigers' 12 turnovers. That gap was the key difference today, as the two teams were even in almost every other statistical category. The Tigers shot 43% from the field and from three-point range, while the Majors shot 41% from the field, albeit with a significantly lower volume of shots due to turnovers, and 33% from three-point range. The rebounding battle was relatively even, as Trinity grabbed 35 boards to Millsaps' 38.

Natalie Greenwood (Dallas, Texas / Byron Nelson) led the Tigers in points for the first time this season with a season-high of 14, along with 5 rebounds and a block on 58% (7-12) shooting. Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists on 46% (6-13) shooting. Livy Sauvageau (Houston, Texas / Second Baptist) had 11 points, 4 assists and 3 steals on 44% (4-9) shooting, her eighth straight game in double-digits. Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 50% (3-6) shooting from downtown, her 20th straight game in double digits. 

The Rundown
Millsaps got out to an early lead, 11-4 with 7:05 to play, as the Tigers struggled shooting the ball out of the gate. That's about where the lead would stay for much of the period, as Trinity struggled to score, but turnovers were already a major problem for the Majors, with 9 in the quarter. With 3:13 to go, Millsaps led 17-11. Over the final three minutes of play, they turned the ball over 4 times and could not find the bottom of the net when they did get shots up, allowing Trinity to work its way back into the game with a 6-0 run to tie things up, 17-17, heading into the second.

The second quarter was strikingly reminiscent of the first. The Majors responded right out of the quarter break with a 6-0 run of their own, hitting two quick threes to take a 23-17 lead with 8:38 to play. They were able to, once again, hold that lead throughout much of the quarter, as it remained a six-point game with 4:43 to go, with Millsaps up 29-23. Turnovers were their kryptonite once again, however, as they had 4 turnovers in the final five minutes of play after having none in the first half of the period. The Tigers were able to capitalize, equalizing the game at 32 with 2:10 remaining. Over the final two and a half minutes, they scored 9 points unanswered, 5 of which came from Allison Even (Tucson, Ariz. / Salpointe Catholic), to take a 37-32 lead heading into halftime.

The Tigers were efficient from deep in the third, making 4 of their 8 shots in the period. The first two of those came in the first two minutes, as the Tigers stretched their lead to nine, grabbing a 43-34 advantage with 8:06 to play. The first double-digit lead of the game came just minutes later, as another three, this time from Ivory Scott (Waco, Texas / Waco), cashed in to give Trinity a 46-36 lead with 5:57 to play. That's where the lead would stay until the final two minutes of the quarter, when the Tigers closed out the period on a 5-0 run to take the largest lead of the game so far into the fourth, up 57-42. 

The Majors, who shot the ball at a 69% clip from deep in the first half, missed all 11 of their threes in the final two quarters. Even as they got their turnovers under control, giving the ball up only two more times in the second half than the Tigers, their poor shooting from deep would not allow them to get back into the game. This was especially true in the fourth as, despite just outscoring Trinity, 14-11, in the period, Millsaps missed 7 threes and never brought the game back within single digits. The largest lead of the game came with 5:54 remaining, when a Greenwood layup put the Tigers up 65-48. The Majors scored the last two buckets of the game, but the final buzzer sounded to mark a 68-56 Trinity victory.
 

Coach Speak
"Winning on the road in this league is not as easy as ABC nor as simple as 123, but visiting Jackson does always remind me of Mike," said Head Coach Cameron Hill. "First quarter was a "Thriller" and Millsaps shot making was "Off The Wall"! Second quarter we were some "Smooth Criminals" and turned the balls we stole into buckets.   Halftime we reminded the team that The Majors can't really "Rock With You", so go out there and "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough!!!!" The whole second half our pressure had them "Working Day and Night!" Clearly, it's "Human Nature" to Do Winning Things in this program, and that's how it ended!    The TOGETHERS are "Bad!" Time for us to "Beat it!" ONWARD."

Looking Ahead
The Tigers will head home to face Sewanee (8-8, 1-4 SAA) and Centre College (14-2, 4-1 SAA) on Jan. 23 and 24, respectively. Centre, who was picked to finish second in the SAA to Trinity in the preseason poll, was tied for first place in the conference before losing their first SAA game today to Oglethorpe, 66-90. They are currently receiving votes in the national poll.