BOX SCORE

POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH RUSTY RAINBOLT

Austin, Texas – Valencia McKinney had 19 points and five steals off the bench in her Tornado debut to propel the Concordia University Texas women's basketball team to a convincing 80-55 victory over East Texas Baptist on Saturday, Nov. 26 at Concordia Fieldhouse. The Tornados held a commanding 53-37 advantage on the boards and forced the Tigers to commit 35 turnovers to win their season opener for the third time in the last four seasons.

Concordia (1-0) got three field goals from three different players to jump out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. But East Texas Baptist rattled off nine unanswered and went on a 15-3 run to go ahead by a 24-17 score with 7:26 left in the opening half. Erika Brown made a jumper to tie it and gave the Tigers the lead shortly before the midway point by converting a free throw.

The Tornados started chipping away at the deficit by scoring nine points in a row, taking the lead on a jump shot by Domonique Liddell, and extending it on a jumper and layup by McKinney with a Lashanda Luckey layup sandwiched in. East Texas Baptist appeared as though they would have the lead at halftime when Amanda Rucker made two free throws to break a 37-all tie, but McKinney took a pass from Madi Hess and canned a trifecta before time expired to give the hosts the momentum and a 40-39 advantage at recess.

Concordia never surrendered the lead it earned in the final seconds of the first half and started the second stanza by scoring the first six points. Paige Parrish made two of the three field goals during the stretch. Three free throws by McKinney at the 10:51 mark, giving the Tornados a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game, and ballooned the margin to 21 on a jump shot with 5:44 on the clock.

East Texas Baptist, which won its season opener by a 69-60 decision over Dallas on Wednesday, was forced to call a timeout with under three minutes remaining when Liddell gave the hosts their largest lead at 25 points on a jumper that put the Tornados ahead by a 79-54 score. Concordia held on for the 25-point win by not allowing the Tigers to convert a field goal in the last 5:34 of regulation.

Concordia's McKinney scored her team-leading 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field while also collecting five steals and dishing out three assists. Point guards Margaret Milling and Hess combined for 10 assists and just one turnover. Both players scored six points, while Milling added eight assists, six boards and four steals. Liddell contributed 10 points off the bench. Shamika Singleton, the reigning ASC Player and Newcomer of the Year, finished with six points and led the squad in rebounding and blocked shots with 10 and three, respectively.

East Texas Baptist (1-1) was led by Brandace Latin's 20 points off the bench. The squad's top returning scorer from a year ago, who made seven of her 11 field goal attempts. Holly Phelps missed a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds, while Enid Sanchez contributed six points, four assists and three picks.

Concordia will host Centenary College on Monday, Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m.