by SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO – #14/17 UT Tyler women’s basketball moved to 8-1 on the season after a 35 point win over Western New Mexico.
Meagan Mendazona and Enisa Kamerolli each scored 16 points and Polina Latysheva, Ella Bradley, and KK Bass also scored in double figures on the day to lead the Patriots.
As a team, UT Tyler shot a blistering 50% from the floor and 46% from beyond the arc while holding Western New Mexico to just 33% shooting and 30% from beyond the arc.
The Mustangs struck first, scoring the first five points of the game and leading 8-5 over the first five minutes of play. However, the Patriots answered with a 14-2 run that saw Mendazona and Bradley each score five points and Latysheva add in four as the trio went 5-for-8 from the floor and buried a pair of three pointers.
That run led to a 19-10 lead after the first quarter, and the Patriots added in seven straight points to start the second quarter to lead to a massive 26-10 lead with 6:47 left in the half. Also in that run, the Patriots held the Mustangs to just one basket over 8:50 of gametime between the periods and just 1-for-12 shooting.
Enisa Kamerolli would knock down her first three pointer with 5:15 to play in the first half, kicking off a 10-5 run that closed out the half and led to a 36-17 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Patriots continued their hot shooting in the third quarter, going 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc as five different Patriots scored in the 10 minutes of play. Mileina Sablinskaite scored seven points and Bass and Mendazona each added six to lead the Patriots dominant offense.
The Mustangs dug their heels in to start the final period by going on a 10-7 run, but it was ultimately too little too late as the Patriots offense refused to falter. Enisa Kamerolli scored 13 points in the final quarter and Tianna Knighton added in seven as the duo would make four combined three pointers.
The Patriots posted a 36-23 rebound advantage, 40-22 advantage in bench points, 24-10 advantage in points off turnovers, and 32-16 advantage in points in the paint.
