Howard Payne University missed two free-throws with 5 seconds left that would have gave them the lead as the University of Texas at Dallas defeats the Lady Jackets 56-53 in the opening round of the 2012 American Southwest Conference basketball tournament.
Howard Payne finishes the season at 20-6 overall, their nine consecutive 20 win season as a program. UT-Dallas stands at 20-6 overall and will play Concordia University Texas on Saturday in the ASC Tournament.
Howard Payne started off hot and built an early 22-8 lead. UT-Dallas rallied and cut the Lady Jacket lead to four, 25-21, with four minutes remaining in the opening half. HPU buckled down defensively and with a rebound and put back by Jasmin Thomas the Lady Jackets would hold a 34-24 halftime lead.
Brittany Roberson scored 14 of her 16 total points in the opening half. Roberson was 6 of 7 from the field in the first half.
UT-Dallas again made a push midway through the second and cut the Howard Payne lead to one, 47-46 with 3:38 left in the game. UT-Dallas took the lead on their next possession, a three-pointer with 2:59 to play gave UTD the 49-47 lead.
A UT-Dallas three pointer with 29 seconds left gave the Lady Comets a 54-51 advantage. Then a Roberson dish to Roshonda Gayden brought HPU to within one, 54-53 with 15 seconds remaining.
Gayden stole the UTD inbound pass and was fouled after a Jasmin Thomas missed jumper with five seconds remaining. Gayden missed both free-throws and UTD secured the ball. After UT-Dallas hit two free-throws, a HPU halfcourt shot was no good, UT-Dallas winning 56-53.
Howard Payne only shot 26% from the field in the second half and 36% in the game. UTD shot 46% in the second half and 38% for the game. Both teams had 41 rebounds.
Along with Roberson’s game high 16 points, Roshonda Gayden added 10 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Jasmin Thomas and Dana Marrs each had eight.
Christina Brosnahan had 14 points for UTD. Brittany Houston added 12 and Lyndsey Smith had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
