BOX SCORE

Richardson, Texas – Lashanda Luckey fell one rebound shy of recording her second double-double in a reserve role, but the Concordia University Texas women's basketball team was dealt a 52-47 loss to Texas-Dallas on Thursday, Jan. 5 at the UTD Activity Center. Despite The Tornados remained in a tie for first place in the American Southwest Conference West Division since McMurry fell in the final seconds to Mississippi College tonight by a 51-50 score.

Concordia scored the first six points, beginning with a Madison Kramr bucket on the first possession, and stormed out of the gates to a 13-4 advantage at the first media timeout with six different players accounting for the scoring. Margaret Milling made a layup to put the Tornados ahead, 19-8, but the Comets came back by not allowing the visitors to net a field goal for nearly seven minutes.

Texas-Dallas went on a 16-1 run, getting a basket from Ashley George to tie the game at 20 before Brittany Houston sank two free throws and Lyndsey Smith sank a jumper to put the hosts ahead. Casey Wallace ended the shooting drought at the 4:52 mark, and Milling drove in for a buzzer-beating layup to make it 32-30 at the break in favor of the Comets.

The defenses dominated the start of the second half, as Concordia held Texas-Dallas to just two field goals over the first eight minutes but could not sink one of its own until Luckey made a layup following a Madi Hess steal at the 13:38 mark. After Luckey made it a one-possession game for the first time since the recess, the Comets rattled off nine straight to pull away.

But Concordia fought back and slashed a double-digit deficit down to three by the final media timeout on a Luckey free throw after she grabbed an offensive board off a missed shot by Milling. Valencia McKinney made two charity shots to make it 46-45 with exactly three minutes left, and Singleton got to the line with a chance to put her team ahead after stealing the ball from Nikki Kosary. The senior, however, missed both of her chances and George drilled hers at the other end.

The Tornados were given another chance in the last minute of the game to at least tie it with Texas-Dallas leading 48-45, but Brianna Smith's attempt rimmed out and George made two free throws to put the Comets ahead by five. Despite getting a jumper from Luckey with six seconds on the clock, the hosts were able to escape with the five-point win.

Concordia, which was receiving votes in both the D3Hoops.com and WBCA national polls for the first time in program history, got 12 points and nine rebounds from Luckey. Singleton added seven points, six boards and five steals.

Texas-Dallas (11-1, ASC 7-1) was led by Smith, George and Korioth. Smith had 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while George finished with 10 points, nine boards and four steals. Korioth netted 11 by shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 1-for-1 from the line.

The Tornados outshot the Comets from the field, 35.7 percent (20-56) to 33.3 percent (14-42) in a game where both teams failed to can a 3-pointer. Texas-Dallas, however, shot a blistering 82.8 percent (24-29) from the line while the Tornados were only 36.8 percent from the stripe.

Concordia (8-2, ASC 6-1) will visit Ozarks on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 p.m.