Championship Central | Box Score | Interview
ABILENE, Texas – UT Dallas earned its fifth American Southwest Conference Championship in women's basketball by topping East Texas Baptist 63-57 on Saturday (Feb. 25) at the Mabee Complex.
The Comets (19-9), who also won the ASC title in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019, earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship tournament. The bracket selections are announced Monday (Feb. 27) at 1:30 p.m. CST on NCAA.com.
East Texas Baptist (20-7) netted the opening seven points in the title game, but the Comets came back to trim the ETBU lead to two, 13-11, at the close of the first quarter. UTD used a 19-10 second quarter to build a 30-23 lead at the half, then soared to a 17-point advantage with 2:46 left in the third. The Tigers cut the UTD lead to three on two occasions with under five minutes left in the game. UTD's Cierra Trigg hit a trey at 3:58 to double the lead to six. The final closest score was 55-52 at 1:49 before Jordan Maxwell scored a layup on the next play. Maxwell tallied the final 10 points, including six ath the free throuw line, to seal the UTD win.
The tournament's Most Valuable Player, Maxwell finished with 17 points to lead all scorers. Trystan Clark contributed 12 points, six rebounds and six steals. UTD shot 41.7 percent from the floor with seven three-pointers and 16-for-21 at the line.
East Texas Baptist shot 33.3 percent from the field, dropping three three-pointers, and went 18-for-25 at the line. Mollie Dittmar led the Tigers with 14 points and nine rebounds. Bridget Upton tossed in 11 points with five boards. Kenidi White and Jayla Hall added nine points each.
UT Dallas Recap |
East Texas Baptist Recap
All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player
– Jordan Maxwell, UT Dallas
Trysten Clark, UT Dallas
Mollie Dittmar, East Texas Baptist
Parris Parmer, Hardin-Simmons
Arieona Rosborough, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Cierra Trigg, UT Dallas
Kenidi White, East Texas Baptist
SEMIFINAL ROUND / February 24
Game 4 | No. 4 UT Dallas 73, No. 1 Hardin-Simmons 71
A buzzer-beater by UT Dallas senior guard Jordan Maxwell propelled the No. 4 seed UT Dallas above No. 1 seed Hardin-Simmons in a 73-71 upset on Friday evening of the ASC Women's Basketball Championship Semifinals. The Comets advance and play No. 2 seed East Texas Baptist in the ASC Women's Basketball Finals on Saturday at 6 p.m. This marks the third straight year a No. 4 seed reached the ASC Championship.
The Comets rallied from down 49-39 in the third quarter and would eventually grab a late 65-63 advantage. With things tied 71 and Hardin-Simmons with possession, the Comets forced a jump ball with 4.6 seconds. Trystan Clark was the UTD player that tied the ball up and Maxwell found a turnaround shot near the free throw line that went down to complete back-to-back upsets in the semifinals as the fourth seed.
The Comets shot 49.2 percent from the floor and were 5-9 from three-point range. Clark led the Comets with 14 points and five assists. Maxwell followed with 13 points to go with four assists and four rebounds. Blythe Williams netted 12 points behind 6-of-7 shooting. UTD improved to 18-9 and won its 22nd game in the ASC Tournament to move into a tie for second with Howard Payne. This is its sixth trip to ASC Finals with its last appearance a season ago as the runner-up.
Hardin-Simmons was led offensively by Paris Kiser with 17 points, while Parris Parmer garnered a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Another double-double for the Cowgirls was Natasha Blizzard with 10 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Completing the quintet of double figures in scoring were Hallie Edmondson and Samantha Tatum with 12 and 10, respectively. The Cowgirls snapped a 20-game winning streak and 27-game winning streak against ASC opponents dating back to January 27, 2022, at Mary Hardin-Baylor in a two-point final (74-72). HSU sits at 23-3 and have been ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division III Region X rankings the previous two polls.
UT Dallas Recap | Hardin-Simmons Recap
Game 3 | No. 2 East Texas Baptist 68, Mary Hardin-Baylor 65 (OT)
East Texas Baptist forced overtime on a second chance basket at the buzzer by Mollie Dittmar, and the Tigers mustered a three-point win to defeat Mary Hardin-Baylor, 68-65, in the ASC Women's Basketball Championship Semifinals. East Texas Baptist advances to play No. 4 seed UT Dallas on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Tigers rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and answered back after the Cru had gone ahead with five seconds in regulation on a layup by Lauren Baker. Dittmar's shot on the right side in the post just released in time and a review confirmed five extra minutes. Baker drilled a trey for the Cru to start overtime, but each side would trade leads a few times before had an old fashioned three-point play by Jade Goynes with a minute left to put the Tigers on top 66-65. Goynes had two more big free throws to cap her 9-for-9 effort in the game. A missed three by UMHB sealed the final.
ETBU was led by Goynes with 16 points. Dittmar claimed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Bridget Upton chipped in 10. The Tigers moved to 20-6 overall and moved to 3-0 head-to-head versus UMHB this season. This is the sixth straight season the Tigers have won at least 20 games and third ASC Championship game in six years. The win improves ETBU to .500 (12-12) all-time in the tournament.
Mary Hardin-Baylor was paced offensively by Lauren Baker with a game-high 20 points. She and Arieona Rosborough combined for seven of the team's made three-pointers and were the lone Cru members in double figures as Rosborough scored 14 points. She grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. UMHB outscored the Tigers 19-10 in the second quarter to go up nine at the break. The first and third quarters were even. UMHB finished its season at 19-8. This was UMHB's only overtime contest of the season and second conference semifinal in a row to play an extra period.
East Texas Baptist Recap | Mary Hardin-Baylor Recap
QUARTERFINAL ROUND / February 21
Game 2 | No. 4 UT Dallas 62, No. 5 Sul Ross State 58 (OT)
UT Dallas edged Sul Ross State in overtime 62-58 to advance to the semifinal round and a date with No. 1 seed and defending ASC champion Hardin-Simmons on Friday (7:30 p.m.).
In a back-and-forth contest, both UTD and Sul Ross State began the final quarter of regulation knotted at 41 points. SRSU (15-11) pushed the lead up to five points early in the fourth quarter before the Comets came back and tied it at 52-52 to force the extra period. UT Dallas led throughout the overtime with UTD sophomore forward Maggie Delascurain securing the win. Amanda Crowninshield totaled 17 points and Blythe Williams eight points and nine rebounds to lead UTD (17-9)..Sul Ross State (15-11) was led by Vania Hampton with 15 points and seven rebounds. Marley Rokas and Victoria Aguayo had 10 points each, while Emily Bunger a game-high 10 rebounds.
UT Dallas Recap | Sul Ross State Recap
Game 1 | No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor 78, No. 6 Concordia Texas 64
A 24-12 fourth quarter pushed Mary Hardin-Baylor past Concordia Texas for a 78-64 win in the quarterfinals of the ASC Women's Basketball Championship. The Cru (19-7) advance to face No. 2 seed East Texas Baptist in the semifinal round on Friday (5:00 p.m.).
UMHB's Arieona Rosborough paced all-scorers with 24 points connecting on 8-16 from the field, including 2-3 from three. Ashley Faux notched a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Concordia Texas (10-15) outscored the Cru in the first (20-18) and third (18-17) quarters, but were unable to keep the gap tight down the stretch. Chelsea Cogborn and Madi Maxwell posted 14 points each to lead CTX and Maxwell grabbed six boards.
Mary Hardin-Baylor Recap | Concordia Texas Recap