Bryce Hayes
For Immediate Release
SEGUIN, Texas — The Texas Lutheran women’s basketball team (10-2, 4-0 SCAC) never trailed and held on down the stretch to upset No. 24/25 Colorado College (11-2, 3-1 SCAC) 76-65 Sunday afternoon. It is the first ranked win at Texas Lutheran for head coach Troy Patterson and the first ranked win for Texas Lutheran since defeating 12th-ranked Trinity in 2017.
The 10-2 start is the best in the program’s NCAA history as the Bulldogs begin SCAC play 4-0 for the first time since 2019. Also with the win, head coach Troy Patterson became the fastest coach to 60 wins in program history, surpassing Lana Urbanek and Mel Dixon.
Four Bulldogs scored in double figures in the ranked eleven-point win, led by 19 points from Lauren Sansano (San Antonio/FEAST) on five made field goal attempts and shooting 8-of-10 from the line. Sansano would add four rebounds and four steals in addition to dishing out a career-high seven assists.
Angelina Sotelo (San Marcos/San Marcos) finished with 15 points and matched her career-high with six assists. Elexis Morado (Kingsville/Santa Gertrudis Academy) and Sarahi Jones (Los Fresnos/Los Fresnos) finished with 12 points each with the 12 point total being a new career-high for Morado while Jones would grab a team-high nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs started fast, jumping out to an early 13-4 advantage behind tough defense and efficient offense. Texas Lutheran converted on four of its first six attempts of the afternoon. The Bulldogs led by as many as ten in the opening frame, and they took a 20-12 edge into the second period, aided by eight points from Sarahi Jones.
The Tigers offense came alive in the second quarter but the Bulldogs offense was able to keep the Tigers at-bay, outscoring them 19-17 in the period. Lauren Sansano took over in the second quarter scoring nine of the Bulldogs 19 points in the quarter as the Bulldogs were able to stretch their lead to as many as 15 points and carry a ten point, 39-29, lead into halftime.
TLU kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter, outscoring Colorado College 17-15 to take a 12 point lead into the fourth. After a quiet first half, Kailee Mulkey (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) led the Bulldogs in the third with five of her seven points on the afternoon. The Bulldogs largest lead of the day would come in the period leading the Tigers by 18 points before a combination of free throws and three pointers whittled the TLU lead down to 12.
Although Colorado College outscored Texas Lutheran in the final quarter of play, the Bulldogs still cemented the double-digit win. Texas Lutheran would only turn the ball over six times on Sunday while forcing 18 Colorado College turnovers. The Bulldogs would also shoot 87.5 percent from the line (14-16). The wire-to-wire win is their third in their last four games.
The Bulldogs will look to keep the momentum going as they begin a four game road trip starting on Friday, Jan. 17, with a trip to Clarksville, Arkansas, to face the University of the Ozarks Eagles. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.
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