SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team defeated the Bulldogs of Texas Lutheran University, 65-50, for its 2021-22 home opener. The Cardinals improve to 1-2 on the season.
 
"While we certainly would have liked to have played better on the offensive end, I thought we were pretty active defensively and gave a much better effort on the boards than what we saw in our first two games. I'm sure to some extent there were some jitters with it being our first home game which might explain some of the turnovers and missed shots around the basket," said head coach Jeff Dow. 
 
Jaaucklyn Moore led UIW with 20 total points followed by Tiana Gardner's 12 points. Destiny Terrell led the Cardinals at the board with nine rebounds. Chloe Storer registered two blocks against the Bulldogs. Storer and Moore tallied three steals each to spark the Cardinal offense. 
 
Star Omozee and Moore both register a 3-pointer in the first quarter for UIW, with Moore's triple giving the Cardinals an early lead. The sophomore had back-to-back threes – six of her 12 points in the first half – mid-way through the first half to extend the UIW advantage. Gardner used a strong put-back jumper to extend the Cardinal lead, 30-23, heading into the break. 
 
Gardner came out strong in the second half, using a layup to extend UIW's lead to nine (32-23). The Cardinals continued their offensive charge, with Brenna Perez entering the game and immediately igniting the offense with a back-door layup to extend the lead 51-35 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. Moore added three more points to her stat line with a wide-open shot at the top of the key. The Cardinals rallied on the free throw line, hitting six in a row at the end of the game to secure the victory, 65-50. 
 
"We were pleased to get to the free throw line as often as we did, but obviously we need to shoot better than 58 percent in the future and hopefully we see some things on film tomorrow in regards to our turnovers and learn from that. But we got the win, and I was happy for our players to be able to play in front of an actual crowd again," said Dow. 
 
UP NEXT 
The Cardinals travel down the road to face the Roadrunners of UTSA. Tip-off is scheduled for noon on Sunday. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook.  
  
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWWBB and on Instagram @uiw_womenshoops.
 
--UIW CARDINALS--