“Beating a quality team like UT-Dallas, who was coming in 4-0, and knocking them off and getting your first win of the year builds you up a little bit,” said Lady Jackets head coach Yannick Denson. “For us, it’s a confidence booster, a really big encourager for our girls to know we can compete with the best of the best in this conference.”
Trailing 45-44 at halftime, the Lady Jackets (1-3) controlled the third quarter to carry a 65-61 lead into the fourth quarter. Knotted at 52, Salina Ali pushed HPU in front of UT-Dallas (4-1) with a three-pointer at the 6:11 mark of the quarter, which triggered a 10-2 run. Ali, Kayla Brigance and Payge Grable also contributed buckets during the run, while Chelsey Harris added a free throw.
Leading by four after three quarters, Howard Payne was limited to just four points in the fourth period – shooting 20 percent (2 of 10) – after scoring 21 points in the third. The Lady Jackets defense, however, gave up just seven points and limited UT-Dallas to 18 percent shooting (3 of 16) over the final 10 minutes.
“When you shoot 20 percent but they only shoot 18, that’s how you win in a close ball game,” said Denson, whose team did not score the last 4:50 of the game. “We’ll find a way to balance the first half to the second half. That’s the main thing with coming off a long break and not having that game feel. We gave 110 percent the first half and about 70 or 80 the second. We just have to find a way to balance that energy all the way through.”
Ali led the Lady Jackets with 14 points trailed by Lily Janek with 11, Chelsey Harris with nine, Brigance, Mallory Garcia, Amanda Turpin and Caitlyn Ward with six points apiece, Grable and Delaney Ingram with two each and Kendra Brown with one point.
Howard Payne shot 47 percent (23 of 49) overall, 44 percent (10 of 23) on three-pointers, and 62 percent (13 of 21) at the free throw line. The Lady Jackets overcame a 42-35 discrepancy in rebounds and 21-15 disadvantage in turnovers.
UT-Dallas knocked down 36 percent (25 of 67) of its field goals, 30 percent (6 of 20) of its treys, and 52 percent (14 of 27) of its free throws.
Paris Brinkley finished with 14 points and Sydney Brock added 12 for UT-Dallas.
The Lady Jackets are back in action at 6 p.m. Monday when they host Dallas Christian College.
Story by Derrick Stuckly