HOUSTON, Texas – St. Thomas women's basketball team nearly upset one of the top teams in NAIA Saturday in its Red River Athletic Conference opener. Instead, Huston-Tillotson escaped with a 77-75 win. UST fell to 2-4, 0-1 RRAC. Huston-Tillotson, a team that was receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll, improved to 6-2, 1-0.
The Celts held a double-digit lead most of the first half and after three periods, but the Rams cut it to one on a layup by Kryshona Carter with 3:55 remaining. Ilana Sanford sank two free throws 31 seconds later to give Huston-Tillotson its first lead.
Bresha Orange (SR/Longview, TX) buried a three-pointer on the Celts next possession to help St. Thomas regain control.
With the game tied at 68-68,
Sheridan Hopkins (JR/Galveston, TX) sank two free throws as the Celts inched back in front. Then Hopkins hit a driving layup to beat the shot clock, giving UST a four-point lead. The Rams cut it to one on a three by Korie Pichon with 41 seconds left. Sanford sank two free throws to put the Rams ahead, 75-74, with 27 seconds remaining. Sanford split a pair from the line with four seconds to go to make it a two-point game. The Celts had to race the length of the floor following the miss on the second free throw, but Orange's shot rimmed out.
The Celts started strong.
Aerial Starks (FR/Houston, TX) converted a three-point play with 6:59 to play in the first quarter, giving St. Thomas an 11-4 lead. Hopkins snatched a pass into the paint, drove coast-to-coast and scored to put the Celts ahead, 17-6, 1:50 later. Orange banked a shot off the glass to beat the first quarter buzzer, and UST took a 29-9 lead into the second.
Huston-Tillotson answered back in the second quarter, pulling within 31-19 on a triple by Carter at the 6:26 mark. Orange drained her third triple of the half to put the Celts in front, 36-19. With 3:15 remaining in the half, the Rams cut it to 10 on a pair of free throws by Aleiyah Brantley. UST led, 41-31, at the half.
The Rams pulled within six just over 3:00 into the second half before Starks hit a driving layup on the next trip down the floor. The Rams made it a five-point game on a putback bucket by Carter, and Kayla Barber scored at the 3:35 mark to bring Huston-Tillotson within two. Orange sank a free throw, and Hopkins scored on three straight possessions as UST climbed back on top, 56-49, with 2:04 left in the third. The Celts entered the fourth quarter leading, 61-51.
UST shot 43 percent from the field, going 26 of 60. Huston-Tillotson shot 45 percent, going 27 of 60. The Celts outrebounded the Rams, 39-30.
St. Thomas will play at No. 12 Our Lady of the Lake 5:30 p.m. Thursday and the University of the Southwest 2 p.m. next Saturday. The Celts return home Dec. 28 for a 3 p.m. tip versus Goshen College as part of the Celts Classic.
