San Antonio, TEXAS – The Trinity women's basketball team (13-9, 9-2 SAA) heads on the road this weekend to face Oglethorpe University (13-8, 5-5 SAA) and Berry College (13-8, 7-3 SAA). The Tigers, currently top-ranked in the SAA, are looking to finish strong as they head into the final three games of the season. 
 
Last Time Out
 
The Tigers fell to Millsaps in a heartbreaker last weekend, as a last-second free throw put the Majors up 73-72. It was a battle all game long, as the two evenly-matched teams went back and forth. Trinity shot 43% from the field and 25% from three, while Millsaps shot 45% from the field and 23% from three. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times, but the Majors turned their takeaways into 22 points, while the Tigers managed just 11. Kylie Minter led Trinity with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a career-high tying 6 steals.
 
Preview - Birds and Vikings on Valentine's
 
On the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels: The Stormy Petrels have see-sawed over the last six games, winning by big margins before dropping the next game, again by big margins. Five of their last six have been decided by double-digits, except for their three-point win in a slugfest with SAA bottom feeder Sewanee. They're a poor shooting team, making 38% of their shots and 28% of their threes, and have had trouble holding on to the ball, averaging 17.8 turnovers per game. In their last matchup with Trinity in January, they shot 30% from the field and 15% from three, managing to stay in it enough to lose by just six primarily because of their 10 board lead in the rebounding column. Look for rebounding to be a key factor in this weekend's game, as, of the Stormy Petrels' losses, they've won the rebounding battle in just one.
 
Oglethorpe is led by senior forward Keimarya Rivera, who's been a dominant force down low this season, averaging 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. She is one of the premier scorers in NCAA DIII, ranking in the top 25 in points per game. Rivera had 24 points, and 13 rebounds on 88% (16-18) free throw shooting against the Tigers earlier this season. Freshman guard Marlie Battle averages 10.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.6 steals per game, which ranks her 15th in the nation. Despite Rivera's paint presence, the Stormy Petrels have struggled to get much else going on the offensive end, as all five starters have more turnovers than assists on the season.
 
On the Berry Vikings: Berry is the SAA's hottest team right now, having won their last six to move into third place in the table after starting their conference schedule 1-3. They've been especially adept in front of their home crowd, holding a 7-1 record at home this season. The Vikings are a defensive team, averaging just 60.9 points per game and holding their opponents to 54.1 points per game, while forcing their opponents to 35% shooting from the field and 29% from three. They also force 21.2 turnovers per game, although they give up an average of 19.1 of their own. While they lengthened their winning streak, they weren't at their best in their last matchup, a 47-46 win against Sewanee, who stands at 1-10 in SAA play. They shot just 30% from the field and 27% from three, but managed to survive the low scoring affair on free throws, where they made 11 more on 12 more shots than Sewanee. Look for shooting percentage to make or break the Viking attack against Trinity as it did in the two team's last matchup, when the Tigers outshot Berry by margins of 13% from the field and 17% from three to take a 72-54 win.
 
The Vikings are led by senior forward Elly Callihan, who averages 12.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Sophomore guard Briaiah Lewis is averaging 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2,9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She was at the helm for Berry against the Tigers in January, with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
 
Looking Ahead
 
The Tigers will play their final regular season game of the season against Southwestern University (13-9, 4-7 SAA) on Feb. 21. Heading into the SAA Championships on Feb. 26, they'll more than likely have locked up a top-two seed and a first round bye in the tournament.