'Roo Women Hold Off TLU for Third Straight Win

SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College women's outscored Texas Lutheran 6-2 in the last two minutes and that would prove to be enough as the 'Roos held off the Bulldogs 70-67 on Friday night for the team's third straight win. Austin College improves to 8-8 overall and 3-3 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

The game was a back and forth affair from the start, with five ties in the first 10 minutes of action. Kendall Heitmeier scored the first five points for the 'Roos and Erin Riley knocked down a pair of treys, but a Bianca Casas triple put TLU on top 21-15 with 6:57 left in the first half. The 'Roos cut it to a one point game at 21-20 with a basket from Christina Kime before TLU pushed the lead back to six at 28-22 with 2:37 left.

The Bulldogs would get a basket to make their lead 31-25 with 1:05 left before the half, but Austin College would get threes from Kali Vittallo and Riley to square things up, and Kime came away with a steal and drew a foul with 0.5 seconds left, sinking both free throws to send the 'Roos into halftime leading 33-31.

After a technical foul at halftime gave Kime two more free throws to start the second half, Austin College extended the lead to 35-31 to make it a 10-0 run between the two halves. However, the Bulldogs would fight back to grab a 42-41 lead on a three from Natalie Vella with 15:25 left in the game. Two more threes from Vittallo put Austin College ahead 47-45 with 10:19 left to play.

The Bulldogs used a 15-6 run over the next three minutes to take a 58-51 lead, but once again Austin College fought back and a three from Riley pulled the 'Roos to within one at 61-60 with 4:13 left in the game. After the 'Roos briefly grabbed a 64-62 lead on a basket by Brianna Harvey, Savannah Hight's three with 2:23 put TLU ahead 65-64.

However, a pair of Riley free throws gave Austin College a one point lead, and the 'Roos would get a driving layup from Kime and free throws from Harvey and Kime to seal the 70-67 victory, as a three point attempt from Kristen Lye rimmed out at the buzzer.

Riley knocked down 4-of-8 threes to finish with 21 points and added seven boards, three assists, and two steals to lead the 'Roos. Kime added 16 points and three steals, and Vittallo and Harvey each chipped in 11 points in the win.

Taylor Dydalewicz led all scorers with 26 for the Bulldogs, and Karisa Cantu added nine points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals for TLU.

Austin College will be looking to make it four in a row when they host Southwestern tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.