SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College women's basketball team got 20 points from both Addison Walling and Bryce Frank and the 'Roos held off No. 16-ranked Trinity late for a 79-70 victory over the Tigers on Sunday afternoon in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 15-5 overall and 8-1 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
After trading baskets to start the game, the 'Roos went on a 16-0 run with both Ann Savage and Walling knocking down a pair of threes to take an 18-2 lead midway through the first quarter. The Tigers started to chip away at the deficit before a three from Caitlyn Collins made it 23-8, and the quarter would end with Austin College on top 25-11.
Walling buried another three to give Austin College a 29-14 lead but the Tigers would use a 21-5 run to take their first lead of the game at 35-34 on a three from Micah Weaver with 1:20 left before halftime. However, Austin College would regain the lead when Reagan Chiaverini found Frank for a bucket to give the 'Roos a 36-35 edge heading into the locker room.
The teams opened the second half by trading baskets before Austin College scored six straight to push it to a 44-37 lead with 6:07 left in the third. The Tigers got to within five before Frank and Chiaverini each scored to give Austin College a 51-42 lead with 2:31 on the clock. A three from Kacie West pushed it back to double-digits at 54-43, and West would score again to give Austin College a 56-45 lead at the end of the third.
Austin College took a 58-48 lead on a basket by Frank but Trinity would use a 9-1 run to pull to within two at 59-57 on a basket by Weaver with 4:32 remaining in the game. Meghan Lewis converted a three-point-play to help Austin College go on top 63-57, and a three by Walling gave the 'Roos a 66-57 advantage with 3:22 left.
The Tigers would get the margin back down to two points at 66-64 with just over two minutes left, but West went 8-of-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to put the game away. Lewis knocked down two more with nine seconds left to seal it, giving the 'Roos their second win over a ranked opponent this year.
Walling was 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from deep in establishing a new career-high in points, and also pulled down a career-best nine rebounds. Frank grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked three shots, and West came off the bench to score 17 points in the win. Savage finished with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Weaver paced the Tigers with 20 points and added seven rebounds, and Julia Ackerman hit five three pointers on her way to 15 points. Abby Holland chipped in 14 and Emily Daniel had 13 for Trinity.
The loss was the first SCAC defeat of the year for Trinity, and Austin College now moves to the top of the conference standings heading into the home stretch of the regular season. The 'Roos are home again on Friday when they host Colorado College at 8:00 p.m.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.