SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity women's basketball team (10-8, 6-1 SAA) dropped their first conference game tonight in OT to Centre College (16-2, 6-1 SAA) tonight, 76-84, after a fourth-quarter rally by the Colonels. 

Both teams struggled shooting the ball, but the Tigers got the lower end of the deal, making 37% of their shots and just 21% of their threes, whereas Centre shot 41% from the field but made just 7% of their threes. Both teams also had trouble holding on to the ball, as the Tigers turned it over 22 times to the Colonels' 19. The rebounding edge was also relatively even, as Centre grabbed 51 boards to Trinity's 48.

Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) led the Tigers in points tonight with 17, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals on 40% (4-10) shooting. Livy Sauvageau (Houston, Texas / Second Baptist) had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Natalie Greenwood (Dallas, Texas / Byron Nelson) also had 13 points, and added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block on 60% (6-10) shooting. 
The Rundown

The Tigers built up an early advantage, taking an 11-4 lead with 6:37 to go. They held that lead through much of the quarter, as the Colonels struggled to take the lid off the basket, shooting just 32% in the quarter, to Trinity's 56%. With 2:10 to go, the game was still within reach, as the Tigers led 19-15. Both teams traded turnovers in the final two minutes of the game, but it was Trinity whose shots fell, and they ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to take the first double-digit lead of the game, 25-15.

The first half of the quarter was more of the same, as the two teams traded buckets, and the Colonels slowly started whittling away at the lead. With 4:39 to play, they brought it back down to 5, as the Tigers held a 34-29 lead. That was about where their quarter successes would end, however, as they would score only once more in the period. Over the final three and a half minutes until halftime, Trinity went on a 10-0 run, starting to break the game open and take a 44-29 lead into the break. 

Things started to get uglier in the third quarter, as the Colonels could not get anything to drop. With 7:17 to go, a Skye O'Rourke (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) layup gave the Tigers a 50-31 lead. Two minutes later, with 5:21 to go, they took their first 20-point lead, as a tip-in from Ivie Mehary (Dallas, Texas / Parish Episcopal School) gave Trinity a 54-34 lead. Centre responded with a 12-2 lead to make the lead a little more manageable, capitalizing on a four-minute stretch in which the Tigers had 3 turnovers. With 1:24 to go, Trinity still led 56-45. That's about where the lead would stay, as the Tigers took a 60-47 lead into the final quarter.

The Tigers began to fall apart in the fourth quarter, making just 25% of their shots in the period, while the Colonels shot 53% from the field to mount a late rally. With 9:04, and Trinity still leading 63-49, Centre turned it on, going on a 16-2 run over the next six minutes to come all the way back in a game they had looked out of for the last 30 minutes. With 3:19 to play, the Tigers hadn't scored for three minutes, and the score was tied at 65 for the first time since the first quarter. The two teams traded buckets over the final minutes, and a Minter free throw put the Tigers up a score, 72-70, with 26 seconds to play. With 17 seconds to play, Centre drew a shooting foul and drained both free throws to tie the game up at 72 apiece. Despite a last-second steal from the Colonels, they were unable to score on their final set piece, and regulation ended in a draw, 72-72. 

Centre kept their momentum going in OT, scoring the first eight points of the period as turnovers and missed opportunities continued to haunt the Tigers late. Trinity converted on all four of their free throws in the period, but could not get a field goal to fall, and the Colonels escaped San Antonio with an 84-76 win to tie for the SAA's first-place slot.

Coach Speak
"Big…such a great example of what life really ends up being," said Head Coach Cameron Hill. "We are young and we want to be big then we get big and we wish we could just be young again. Josh Baskin understands me when I say, we were young to start the season, then we got big, and it was awesome for a while, but now we know we have to STAY young and grow BIG. Because being BIG is hard.  And if we really want to become great we can't skip steps. I HAVE NO DOUBT WE WILL MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT TO THIS NEW CHALLENGE AND BECOME exactly the team we are meant to be. So Centre, sock me in the stomach three more times!!!! ONWARD."

Looking Ahead
The Tigers will head back on the road next weekend to face the Sewanee (8-9, 1-5 SAA) and Centre College again. If Trinity can win against the Tigers of Sewanee, the second matchup against Centre would be a chance to take back the top spot in the SAA standings.