A hot shooting first half was just enough to propel visiting UT Dallas to a 67-58 win over the LeTourneau University women's basketball team on Thursday night. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the YellowJackets.
 
The Comets (18-4, 14-3 ASC) came out of the gates, shooting at a blistering 70.4% (19-for-27) clip en route to a season-best 53.8% effort in the win. Three players – Ashley Shaw (19), Amber Brown (15) and Nicolette Erkman (14) – scored in double digits to lead UTD.
 
The YellowJackets (7-15, 5-12 ASC) were led by the 15-point effort by sophomore Ashley Reed. It is the sixth time on the season that the Cedar Hill native has led the LETU scoring ledger. She was joined in double digits by fellow sophomore Bria Goodman, who added 13.
 
The contest went back and forth for the opening six minutes with it being tied on four occasions. With the contest at 14, eight-straight points by the Comets put the visitors ahead for the rest of the contest. Later in the half, UTD stretched the margin to as much as 22 in the first 20 minutes. The Comets held a 47-25 halftime lead over the YellowJackets. Of the 47 points for UTD, 30 of them came in the paint.
"We played a disappointing first half in terms of our intensity and execution and a strong UTD team capitalized on that," said LETU head women's basketball coach Leslie Reinecker.
 
A resilient LeTourneau squad came out of the locker room in the second half. The YellowJackets held UTD to 36% shooting from the field and they knocked down 41.4% (12-for-29) of their shots. Also, LeTourneau outscored the UTD by a 33-20 margin, but the deficit would not get to single digits until a last-second 3 pointer by LETU senior Rebecca Stewart for the final margin. A key factor in the second half for LeTourneau was its defense, who also outscored UTD by an 11-0 margin in points off turnovers.
 
"We did a lot of good things, but just waited too long to make a comeback," said Reinecker. "We are still searching for consistency and have to find a way to put two halves of basketball together."
 
The YellowJackets will close out the home portion of its season on Saturday with a doubleheader against Hardin-Simmons. Earlier this year, LETU dropped a 70-69 decision in Abilene on Jan. 8. Following the contest, LeTourneau will recognize its two seniors – Stewart and Kalyn Shorter for their contributions to the program, both on and off the court.