SAN ANTONIO – The Tiger women's basketball team (13-8, 9-1 SAA) defeated Rhodes College (6-14, 2-7 SAA) tonight, 88-74, to kick off their last home stand of the season. A huge third quarter put the Tigers up big, pulling them out of a close game to take a sizeable win.

Trinity outshot the Lynx tonight, making 48% of their shots to Rhodes' 42%. They were money from three, cashing in on 47% of their shots from deep, to Rhodes' 39%. The defensive effort was not to be discounted, as the Tigers grabbed 14 steals, forcing 17 total turnovers, while giving up just 11. Rhodes won the rebounding battle slightly, grabbing 38 boards to Trinity's 34, but the gaps in the shooting and turnover battles were not something they could overcome.

Kylie Minter (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) matched her season high in points, dropping 25, to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on 59% (10-17) shooting from the field. Ivory Scott (Waco, Texas / Waco) also had a huge night, recording a career-high of 23 points, matching her career-high of 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal on 71% (5-7) shooting from the field and 80% (4-5) from three. Livy Sauvageau (Houston, Texas / Second Baptist) had 18 points, 2 assists and 2 steals on 53% (8-15) shooting from the field and 50% (2-4) from three.

The Rundown
The Tigers came out hot, taking an 8-2 lead with 7:18 to go off 4 early points from Natalie Greenwood (Dallas, Texas / Byron Nelson). Rhodes brought it back to a one-score game almost immediately, making back-to-back threes, to bring the score to 1, down 10-11 with 5:21 to go. The Lynx closed the quarter out strongly with an 8-4 run over the final five minutes, taking an 18-15 lead going into the second quarter.

It was all Rhodes in the beginning of the second quarter, as the Tigers couldn't buy a bucket, and the Lynx couldn't miss from three. In the first three and a half minutes of the period, the Lynx scored 16 points, while Trinity scored just 2. With 6:36 to go, Rhodes had a 34-17 lead and looked to be running away with the game. The Tigers began to whittle away at the lead before closing the quarter out in a huge way to make things interesting again. In the last two and a half minutes of the game, they went on an 11-0 run, stopped only by a last-second Lynx jumper to maintain a two-possession lead, 42-37, heading into halftime.

The beginning of the third quarter saw Rhodes continue to hold their lead, but it was not to be. Facing an eight-point deficit with 8:01 to go, the Tigers began to look deadly from the field, beginning to turn the tide of the game for the final time. With 4:10 to go, they took the lead back off a Sauvageau three. After the Lynx responded with a three of their own, it was all Trinity. With 12 straight points over the final two and a half minutes of the period, 9 of which came from Scott and Minter, the Tigers took a 65-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Rhodes remained competitive in the fourth, opening things up with a 7-3 run over the first three minutes of the quarter before slowly bringing the game down to a two-possession game, 69-73, with 3:26 to go. That was all the Tigers would allow, though, immediately heading on a 15-4 run to close things out with no room for a Rhodes comeback. At the final buzzer, the Tigers led 88-74.

Coach Speak
"Usually if I'm gonna reference boxing it's a Rocky quote," began Head Coach Cameron Hill. "But tonight made me think of Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Floyd was always gonna get the other guys best effort. So he had to learn how to pace himself. Play the long game. 50 fights, 50 wins, only 27 by knockout. He figured out how to win the fight by playing the game. Knockouts are fun, but sometimes it means more to just win on points. Great fight tonight. ONWARD."

Looking Ahead
The Tigers will be back on the court this Sunday, against Millsaps College (14-6, 5-4 SAA). The Majors have won two straight, grabbing a 75-68 win over Southwestern University tonight.