TYLER, Texas -- Midwestern State battled back from 19 points down in the second half before falling 63-56 to 18th-ranked UT Tyler Friday night at the Herrington Patriot Center.

Senior forward Zarria Carter paced the Mustangs (2-7, 0-3 LSC) with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals. Freshman Kerbie Cash turned in her second collegiate double-double by matching season highs with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mustangs take on St. Mary's (Texas) on Sunday, December 15 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

UT Tyler improved to 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in league play, bouncing back from a 53-50 loss to Lubbock Christian on Wednesday.

How It Happened

UT Tyler scored the first seven points of the first half, then the Patriots opened the second half on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 19 after a pair of Meagan Mendazona free throws gave UTT a 43-24 advantage with 7:22 to go in the third period.

Midwestern State used a 7-2 run to pull within six points at 54-48 with 6:07 to play, then Emillia Steele followed a 3-pointer by Kerbie Cash with a pair of free throws to pull MSU to within four points at 57-53 with 3:33 to play.

But KK Bass and Mariah Neal connected on back-to-back triples to provide breathing room for the Patriots down the stretch.

Game Notes

» MSU freshman Kerbie Cash logged her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
» MSU senior Zarria Carter connected on 9-of-17 shots and was 5-of-7 from the charity stripe on the way to her third consecutive 20-point performance. The 6-1 forward finished with 23 points to raise her season scoring avereage to 19.8 points per game. She also grabbed six rebounds and made three steals.
» Carter has scored 20-or-more points in five games this season.
» Sophomore Emillia Steele finished with four points, six rebounds, and two steals in 20 minutes.
» Freshman Tianna Knighton scored 11 points off of the bench to match sophomore Polina Latysheva with team-high honors for UT Tyler.
» Midwestern State held UT Tyler leading scorer, Meagan Mendazona, to a season-low nine points. The junior from Independence, Oregon, threatened a triple-double with nine points and eight assists.

This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.