Tigers Fall in Final Tournament Game Tuesday

San Antonio - The Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils came back from a four-point halftime deficit to beat the eighth-ranked Trinity women 82-67 Tuesday at the Texas Challenge in Sams Gym.

Trinity (7-2) had defeated Bluffton 84-67 in Monday's opening day of the four-team tournament. Mary Hardin-Baylor went 2-0 with a 54-46 win over Bluffton on Tuesday.

The two halves of Tuesday's game were totally opposite. Trinity had taken as much as a 10-point first-half lead over Wisconsin-Stout, 25-15, with 8:04 in the first half. Wisconsin-Stout rallied and tried the score at 31-31, with 24 seconds left in the half. Junior guard Claire Gerall made two free throws, and sophomore forward Abby Dietert scored on a jumper at the buzzer, giving Trinity a 35-31 lead at halftime. After an early six-point second-half lead, the Tigers came close, but never regained the advantage. Wisconsin-Stout led by 19 points, 75-56 (at 6:42), on a 16-4 scoring run. The Blue Devils shot 53 percent in the second half, to 26 percent for the Tigers.

Dietert, from Cibolo, Texas (Steele), led the team with 22 points, shooting 7-13 from the field, and hitting 8-12 free throws. She also grabbed five rebounds, and had two assists. Gerall, from Houston (Kinkaid), was the only other Tiger in double figures, with 11 points. She hit 2-3 from the field, made a 3-pointer, and sank 6-9 free throws.

Sophomore guard Ali Marzella of Katy, Texas (Taylor), scored eight points and had a team-leading 11 rebounds. Marzella also accounted for three steals and one block. Junior guard Danielle Hubenak of San Antonio (Churchill) also had eight points, going 6-6 at the free throw line. Hubenak made three assists and two steals.

Wisconsin-Stout (7-5) shot 39 percent from the field, and Trinity hit an uncharacteristic 29 percent. The Blue Devils led 60-41 in rebounding, including a 25-17 edge in offensive boards.

Julia Hirssig of Wisconsin-Stout scored 22 points and pulled in 16 rebounds. Kim Stokke scored 19 points, and Megan Maslowski added 17.

Trinity will host Austin College in an SCAC game at 1 p.m. Saturday, and Colorado College in a conference game at noon  Sunday. The Tigers are 1-0 in SCAC play.