FORT WORTH, Texas – University of North Texas at Dallas women's basketball opened the 2024-25 season with a 67-52 setback to Friends University on day one of the Texas Wesleyan Classic on Friday. The Trailblazers (0-1) were outdone 25-9 in the fourth quarter as the Falcons (2-2) shot 62.5 percent (10-16) from the field in that frame.
It was a competitive game through the first 30 minutes of action with the Trailblazer striking first with a 10-point advantage through the first quarter. Senior
Skye Dugan (Richardson, Texas) scored a layup and three-pointer that was part of an early string of seven straight points that was capped by a jumper from junior
Alauna Moore (Crowley, Texas). Senior
Mya Bills (Rockwall, Texas) knocked down a trey to make it 12-4 with three minutes left in the quarter and opened the largest lead at that juncture. Sophomore
Sanaa Murphy-Showers (Plano, Texas) had a late basket that gave UNTD a double-digit lead and end the quarter with a 17-7 favorable score.
The first six minutes of the second quarter saw the Trailblazers maintaining a similar margin lead until the Falcons struck back with 12 straight points to take their first advantage since making a three in the opening moments of the contest. Two free throws by sophomore
De'Asia Johnson (Dallas, Texas) knotted the score heading into intermission.
Friends pushed a third quarter lead to as many as six (37-31) through the first three minutes of the game. A layup by Dugan and the next five consecutive points from Bills with a trifecta and jumper gave UNTD a narrow 38-37 lead at 5:47 in the quarter. Leads traded sides before a three-minute drought held both teams searching for momentum. The one-point lead exchanged hands three more times to end the stanza with a layup by Moore giving the Trailblazers a 43-42 edge into the final 10 minutes.
Things unraveled from their as UNT Dallas battled as it had all night, but could not find the bottom of the net shooting 11.1 percent (2-18) and tallying single-digits in the scoring column. Despite the result, UNTD fought to keep within striking distance as a trey by Dugan sliced a double-digit gap to eight (54-46 with four and a half remaining. Friends sealed the game from there.
Dugan was the only Trailblazer to play 40 minutes and netted a team-high 18 points in her debut with the program. She added six rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Johnson added 11 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Senior
Eryka Patton (Hutchins, Texas) hauled down a game-high 12 boards. Bills made two treys and had eight points from the bench.
The Falcons were led by Taylor Jackson with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Lauryn Mclver had 16 points and seven rebounds. Kori Babcock and Abigail Barr each tossed in 11 points. As a team, Friends outrebounded UNTD 43-28 and scored 44 points in the paint compared to 10. This game featured four lead changes and four ties.
UNT Dallas is back on the court Saturday against Oklahoma Wesleyan at 12:00 p.m. to wrap up the Texas Wesleyan Classic.
