GEORGETOWN, Texas – It can be hard to beat a nationally ranked team on any given night, but it becomes difficult to do so when that team storms out of the gate, firing on all cylinders and scores 42 points in the first quarter.
The Southwestern University women's basketball team found out how difficult that was when facing second-ranked Trinity University on Saturday and ultimately falling by a 125-89 score.
Trinity (17-0, 8-0 SCAC) jumped out to leads of 12-0, 22-2 and 25-5 in the first five minutes of the game before winning the first quarter 42-17.
The Tigers shot a blistering 16-for-23 from the field, 6-for-11 from long range and 4-for-5 from the free throw line in the opening stanza.
Had it not been for the 13 turnovers committed by the Pirates (7-9, 4-4 SCAC) in the first quarter, Southwestern turned in a respectable shooting performance making nearly 40 percent of their shots as R'Yani Vaughn led the way with six points off the bench.
Southwestern then converted a greater percentage of shots in the second quarter, going 8-for-12 from the field for 66.7 percent, 2-for-2 from long range and 4-for-7 from the charity stripe for 22 points, but the Tigers unrelenting pressure defense forced the Pirates into 12 more turnovers in the stanza.
Trinity extended its lead at the half to 78-39 with a 36-point second quarter on 12-for-21 shooting from the field for a percentage of 57.1 while also going 5-for-10 from long range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
The second half would see Southwestern once again have a greater percentage of made shots 58.8 to 47.6, but Trinity converted on five more three-point shots to take the quarter 29-27 for a 107-66 lead.
Southwestern would then win the fourth quarter 23-18 as four Pirates finished the game with double digits including 16 each from Reece Sandercock and Kaitlyn Atkinson.
Ellie Ward added 11 points, while Vaughn chipped in 10 points of her own,
One positive that can be taken from the defeat is how Southwestern was able to outrebound Trinity by a 36-27 count.
Josie Napoli (24) and Ashlyn Milton (21) paced the offensive output for Trinity.
UP NEXT
Southwestern will close out the four-game homestand with a pair of SCAC contests next Friday and Saturday when the Pirates host Austin College and the University of Dallas. Tipoff for Friday's contest against Austin is slated for 5:30 p.m. CST while the matchup with Dallas is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. CST on Saturday.
