The University of Texas at Dallas women’s basketball team capped off a roller-coaster American Southwest Conference (ASC) postseason run with a championship finish, beating East Texas Baptist University 63-57 in the finals Saturday at the Mabee Athletic Complex in Abilene.
The Comets, who also won the ASC title in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. They will play Trinity University (26-1) in the first round at 8 p.m. CST Friday at the William H. Bell Athletic Center in San Antonio. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $7 for students, seniors and children. The game also will be broadcast online.
UT Dallas, which was seeded fourth in the ASC tournament, advanced to the title game after defeating Sul Ross State University 62-58 in overtime in the quarterfinals and stunning nationally ranked Hardin-Simmons University 73-71 on a last-second shot by Jordan Maxwell in the semifinals.
In the finals, the Comets trailed 7-0 early before rallying to take a 30-23 halftime lead, thanks to some strong shooting in the second quarter. UTD pushed the lead to 17 points in the third before holding off a late rally by East Texas Baptist to win the title.
Maxwell, who scored a game-high 17 points in the finals, was named the tournament’s MVP. Teammates Cierra Trigg and Trystan Clark were also named to the all-tournament team.
UT Dallas (19-9), led by first-year coach Joe Shotland, has won its last six games and will be making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Shotland spent the past seven seasons as an assistant coach at Trinity and played for the men’s team there from 2010 to 2014.
