RICHARDSON, Texas – LeTourneau University women's basketball team lost in the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday, falling at the University of Texas at Dallas, 62-55.
The YellowJackets were led by Ajanae Thomas' 19 points and seven rebounds. Malacia Guy chipped in 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Keauna Whitfield added 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
A steal by Whitfield led to a three-pointer by Guy on an assist from senior Scruffy Hopkins that gave the YellowJackets a 10-0 lead before a Comet timeout. Thomas and Whitfield both scored after the timeout, creating a 14-0 lead. UT Dallas' Kelley Skinner split a pair of free throws to finally put the Comets on the board. The YellowJackets took a 14-6 advantage into the second period. Thomas tallied seven of her 19 points in the first quarter.
LETU shot 7 of 18 from the field, and held eighth-ranked UT Dallas to 2 of 12 shooting in the opening quarter.
Senior Flora Akingbade made a pair of free throws to put the Jackets up 21-13 midway the second period. UT Dallas (14-3) began to close the gap after a foul and made layup by Sydney Brock, who capped off the old fashion three-point play with a made free throw. That cut the YellowJackets' lead to two. Whitfield netted a three-pointer with 48 seconds left, but UT Dallas' Raenett Hughes scored on a jumper before halftime. LeTourneau led 30-24 at the break.
LETU was outscored by the Comets 18-12, in the second quarter. The Jackets never trailed in the first half.
The YellowJackets built a nine-point lead after Guy cashed in on a three with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter. Hughes scored to shrink the Jackets' lead to five. An 11-4 run by the Comets to end the quarter knotted the game up, 42-42.
In the fourth quarter, the Comets used a 5-0 run to take control before Hopkins sank a pair of free throws to halt the spurt. It was the first time the YellowJackets trailed the entire game. The Comets' lead grew to nine, following a layup by Skinner with 2:59 left in the game. Thomas dialed in on a 3, cutting the UT Dallas lead to six, but it wasn't enough for the YellowJackets.
LeTourneau won the rebounding battle, 45-39. The Comets outscored LETU, 19-2, in bench points. The Comets outscored the Jackets, 34-14, in points in the paint.
Akingbade finished with six points and eight rebounds, while Hopkins had five points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal.
The YellowJackets finished the season with a 12-6 overall record. It was the second straight year LeTourneau advanced to the ASC quarterfinals.
