TYLER, Texas- Trailing 33-32 after three quarters of play, the LeTourneau University women's basketball team was unable to shut down the University of Texas-Tyler offense in the final quarter of a 61-44 road loss at the Herrington Patriot Center in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, January 26th.

The loss drops the YellowJackets to 5-14 overall while the Patriots snap a three-game losing streak and move to 11-8 on the season. The game was considered a non-conference game due to Texas-Tyler transitioning to NCAA Division II.

How It Happened:

• A prolific shooting performance from beyond the arc would be the difference in the opening quarter for the YellowJackets as LETU would jump out to a quick 6-4 lead before seeing the Patriots battle back to tie things at eight with 2:49 remaining.
• The score would be deadlocked again with 18 seconds remaining after the two squads would split the next 10 points of the game until another triple by Keauna Whitfield put LETU ahead 16-13 as time expired.
• Turnovers would haunt both teams in the opening five minutes of the second period as only six points were recorded on both ends of the court with defenses locking down the hoop.
• Continuing to exchange leads, the score would be tied two more times down the stretch until a layup in the final minute by the Patriots allowed UTT to take 24-23 lead heading into the break.
• Texas-Tyler would extend their lead to four in the opening minutes of the second half but LeTourneau refused to let them out of their sight by pulling within one on an Alexandria Thorne triple with 3:21 left.
• Thorne would go on to complete a successful trip to the charity stripe two minutes later to give LETU their first lead of the half second half, but a layup in the final seconds would result in another lead change and allow the Patriots to claim a one-point lead heading to the fourth.
• Having avoided a scoring drought through the first 30 minutes of action, LETU would be forced to endure a 4:11 cold snap that allowed Texas-Tyler to go on a 13-0 run that put the YellowJackets in a 45-32 hole. Looking to make up some ground, LETU managed to find their success from behind the arc by sinking a trio of threes in the final minutes of play.
• Despite the efforts and late surge, LeTourneau would be unable to pull any closer than 10 as a 28-point output in the fourth from Texas-Tyler was too much to overcome.

Key Stats:

• Thorne scored a team-high 10 points, while Whitfield led LETU with nine rebounds. Junior point guard Claudia Moonsammy added a career-high six assists.
• LETU would make the most of their 13 forced turnovers by outscoring UTT 19-16 in points off turnovers but would have issues on the glass as the Patriots held a 44-26 advantage on the boards.
• Shooting an impressive 60 percent (6-of-10) in the opening quarter, the YellowJackets ended the contest shooting 31.4 percent (16-for-51) from the field while the Patriots used a strong 47.6 percent (10-of-21) shooting performance in the fourth to earn the victory.

What's Next?
LeTourneau will get a chance to avenge their loss as they prepare for their second consecutive matchup against the Patriots on Thursday, January 31st at Solheim Arena. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. between the two squads in their last contest as NCAA Division III foes.