STEPHENVILLE, Texas – A 15-point run that started in the second quarter and extended into the third clinched the 57-42 victory for the University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team over Tarleton State University on Sunday afternoon. This was the largest run Tarleton had faced all year.

"We're thrilled with how well we played today," said Head Coach Jeff Dow. "Defensively I'm not sure we could have executed the scouting report any better. Our assistant coaches do a tremendous job of getting our team and myself prepared for every game. All four quarters we held them below 40 percent from the field. Amber Cunningham gave them a goal of forcing at least 18 turnovers and we forced 25. We also talked about wanting to be disciplined on the defensive end and keep them off the free throw line. They had zero free throw attempts in the first half and only nine for the game. Anytime you can make more free throws than the opponent attempts, it's always a good thing."
 
Destiny Terrell led the way with 16 points (7-for-8) and seven rebounds, while Aliyah Collins finished with 12 points and Nina De Leon Negron added 10. Between Collins and De Leon Negron, the pair tallied six assists.
 
The Cardinals opened the game with a 10-2 start which led to all five starters scoring within the first four minutes. The dominant defensive play on the other side of the ball held TSU to seven first-quarter points (16-7).
 
UIW ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run and Jorja Elliott ended the half drawing an offensive charge to hold Tarleton and maintain the largest lead of the game, 29-16.

"We place a huge emphasis on winning the 'points off turnovers' category and we did that (23-11). Obviously that's a combination of taking care of the ball on the offensive end which we did (only 12 turnovers), plus capitalizing when we forced turnovers. We were also able to outscore their bench despite our bench playing 33 fewer minutes than theirs."
 
That same run extended into the second half with the help of six early points from Terrell. The Texans finally ended the 15-point run and were able to tie the Cardinals in third-quarter points (14), but were unable to come back from the deficit, handing UIW a 43-30 edge heading into the final 10 minutes and a 57-42 victory.

"This is our third game in a row that we have led essentially from the opening tip and never trailed, which speaks to how ready to play we've been of late. And two of those wins have been on the road which says a lot about the focus and toughness of this team."
 
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