SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team lost at Trinity University on Saturday afternoon, 61-55 at Sams Gymnasium.

A strong fourth quarter push by the Tigers (7-1) proved to be too much to overcome for the Cardinals (3-3).  Trinity led 26-21 at halftime, but UIW played great in the third quarter behind the play of senior guard Aricka Adams (Round Rock/Round Rock HS).  Adams was scoreless in the first half, but scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the period to give the Cardinals at 41-35 lead heading into the final stanza.

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals went ahead by eight points after Adams picked off a pass and went for a fast break layup, drew the foul and converted the free throw with 8:20 remaining.  Trinity came right back on their next two possessions when Monica Holguin scored on a conventional three-point play and then drained a three-pointer to cut the UIW lead to two points.

The Cardinals maintained their slim lead until Allison Staley drained a three-pointer for Trinity with 3:15 remaining to tie the game at 50-05.  The Tigers took the leads when Anecia Richardson scored on a layup off an out of bounds play with 1:51 to play.  UIW came right back and tied the game on a pair of free throws by Melina Merritt (Round Rock/Cedar Ridge HS).  Holguin put Trinity up for good the next time down when she made both of her free throws.  An Adams three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining cut the lead to two points, but Trinity was able to salt the game away at the foul line.

The Cardinals shot 32.7 percent from the field as they struggled against the Tigers' 2-3 zone defense.  They made 6-of-21 from three-point range and were 17-of-24 from the foul line.  Adams led the team with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists while Merritt added 10 points.  Jordan Franks (Norman, OK/Norman HS) had five steals while Celia Garcia Paunero (Valladolid, Spain/Otero JC) had seven points and a team high seven rebounds.

Trinity shot 40.9 percent from the field, made 7-of-19 from three-point range and were 18-of-26 at the foul line.  Holguin poured in 24 points to go with six rebounds, five assists, four steals and four three-pointers.  Richardson chipped in with 14 points.  The Tigers had one more rebound than the Cardinals and each team committed 24 turnovers.

The Cardinals are back in action on Monday night at 6 p.m. at home against University of Houston.
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