Texas Lutheran Falls to #4 Trinity, 61-59

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Texas Lutheran took the 4th-ranked Trinity Tigers to the wire in the latest chapter in the two programs storied rivalry, but the Bulldogs upset bid would fall just short  - falling 61-59 on Friday night at Calgaard Gymnasium - the host site of the 2023 SCAC Tournament.

Freshman Lauren Sansano (San Antonio/FEAST) posted her fourth straight double-digit effort, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Davi'Yanna Jones (San Antonio/Stevens) joined Sansano in double-figures with 12 points and a team-high two steals.

Eight different Bulldogs found the bottom of the net in the first half with Kailey Lacy (Pflugerville/Hendrickson) leading the Bulldogs with five points in the opening half as TLU trailed the highly-touted Tigers 23-22 at the break. Texas Lutheran led by as many as seven points in the first half - holding the high scoring Trinity Tigers well below their season averages.

Trinity attempted to pull away - outscoring the Bulldogs 25-17 in the third quarter to take a 48-39 lead into the final period.

The trio of Sansano, Jones, and Tanyse Moehrig (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) guided the Bulldogs through their fourth quarter comeback - combining for 18 of TLU's 20 fourth quarter points on 7-of-8 shooting. Despite trailing by double-digits early in the period, the Bulldogs climbed all the way back to tie the game 59-59 with 37 seconds remaining. TLU would force a Trinity turnover with 19 seconds remaining and opportunity to win the game but would turn the ball over themselves resulting in a Trinity fastbreak layup to seal the game with two seconds remaining.

With the loss, Texas Lutheran settles into the fourth seed in the 2023 SCAC Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs will face the fifth-seed that is to be determined between University of Dallas, Southwestern, and St. Thomas.

Texas Lutheran concludes its regular season on Saturday, Feb. 18, as the Bulldogs travel to Kerrville to face the Schreiner Mountaineers in the regular season finale. Tip-off is set for 4 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

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