SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team hosted two teams at the McDermott Center this past week. The Cardinals fell, 63-54, to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) on Thursday night, then defeated the Texas Lutheran University (TLU) Bulldogs, 50-42, on Sunday afternoon.
 
UNC
 
Myra Bell (15) and Nina De Leon Negron (13) led the Cardinals in scoring.
 
Both teams started out slow as the Bears got on the board first following a 3-pointer two minutes into the game. Brenna Perez hit a jumper and De Leon Negron finished a layup as the Cardinals cut the lead to 8-4. Destiny Terrell found space underneath for a layup, then Bell stepped to the free throw line and sank both, bringing the score to 11-9 to end the first.
 
Hanna Wheeler subbed into the game in the second and capped off a seven-point run for the Cardinals with a 3-pointer to gain a 16-13 edge over the Bears. UNC came within two, but the Cardinals held off the Bears and headed into the break, 21-17.
 
The Cardinals jumped to an eight-point advantage midway through the third, but the Bears cut it to two as the third quarter ended (39-37).
 
The two teams traded leads in the fourth until UNC took control of the game with two minutes left. The Bears went on a 9-0 run that eventually resulted in a 63-54 defeat.
 
TLU

De Leon Negron once again led the Cardinals in scoring with 20 points off 4-10 3-point shooting. Terrell led the Cardinals on the boards with 11 rebounds, five of which were offensive. 
 
The Cardinals started the game with a hot hand against the Bulldogs, shooting 60 percent (3-5) from behind the arc in the first and jumping to a 15-6 lead to end the quarter.
 
UIW attacked the boards hard, securing seven offensive rebounds to clean up eight second-chance points. The Cardinals extended the lead to 14 to end the half on a high note (31-17).
 
The Bulldogs pulled within eight points (38-30) in the third and three points in the fourth (45-42), but the Cardinals held off TLU to win the game, 50-42.


FOLLOW ALONG 
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