TYLER, Texas – The Howard Payne University women's basketball team fell 79-75 vs. The University of Texas - Tyler on Wednesday afternoon at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center.
The Lady Jackets (1-3) turned in one of their finest defensive performances against unbeaten and #3 ranked UT-Tyler (4-0.) They collected 12 steals while helping force 28 turnovers before foul trouble and strong post play gave the Patriots the 79-75 victory.
Valerie Matlock led the Jackets with 21 points, six rebounds three assists and six steals and Sarahi Castillo added 16 points and nine rebound in the loss. Micah Cisneroz had 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists before fouling out with 6:36 seconds left in the game.
Howard Payne had three players in double figures in the first half with Sarahi Castillo leading the way with 11 points and Micah Cisneroz and Valerie Matlock each finishing the half with 10 points. They forced 15 turnovers and led 42-36 with two minutes left in the half.
The Yellow Jackets got into foul trouble and were forced into some cold shooting to start the half but still hung with UT-Tyler during the third quarter. HPU cut the lead to 56-55 with 1:46 second remaining in the quarter before the Patriots made two big jump shots to take the 66-50 lead into the fourth quarter.
Micah Cisneroz picked up two fouls early in the third quarter and came into the final quarter with only one foul to give. The UT-Tyler offense then started to work the ball into the paint and get their post players involved. The result was Cisneroz picking up a foul midway through the fourth quarter and being relegated to the bench for the final six minutes of the game.
The Jackets did trim the Patriots lead down to four, 63-59 midway through the fourth quarter. But UT-Tyler settled in and finished the game strong by drawing fouls and going to the free throw line. The Patriots ended up going 23-37 from the free throw line to help capture the victory.
Howard Payne had more offensive rebounds (20) than defensive rebounds (19) which led to 39 second chance points and they forced UT-Tyler into 28 turnovers.
The Lady Jackets will now take a break before heading back out on the road to participate in the Trinity University Classic Tournament. Their first match is against Schreiner University on November 26th at 4:00 pm.
