IRVING, Texas â€" The Texas Lutheran women's basketball squad snapped a two-game skid in a big way, riding a season-best shooting night to an 89-76 road win over the University of Dallas on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs scorched the nets all game on their way to a season-high 51 percent day from the field. The three-point shot was a dangerous weapon for the Bulldogs, too. They knocked down a season-high nine 3-pointers, while shooting a season-best 53 percent from deep.
 
The wire-to-wire win improved TLU's record to 9-8 overall and 4-3 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The win also pulled the Bulldogs even with Dallas in the league standings, as the Crusaders dropped to 4-3 in the SCAC and 10-6 overall.
 
The defense was on-point for TLU, holding the Crusaders to less than 34 percent from the field. The Bulldogs also held Dallas to just 27 percent (6-of-22) from long range.
 
For the fourth straight game the Bulldogs were led in scoring by Taylor Dydalewicz (Dripping Springs, Texas). The junior was just about perfect on Saturday, finishing with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting. She opened up by making her first eight shots, and finished 3-of-3 from behind the arc. The junior averaged 24.5 points per contest in two games this weekend.
 
Dydalewicz received plenty of help on Saturday. Three other players finished with double-digit scoring.
 
Kristen Lye (San Antonio, Texas) scored 14 points, her highest total in more than a month, finishing 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range. The sophomore also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Karisa Cantu (San Antonio, Texas) added 12 points, while also notching five assists. She did a majority of her damage from the free throw stripe, going 6-of-11 from there for the game.
 
Bianca Casas (Edinburg, Texas) poured in 11 points, including two 3-pointers. She led the team with six assists.
 
The Bulldogs couldn't have asked for a better opening 20 minutes, as they powered their way to a 17-point halftime lead with scintillating shooting. They finished the first half shooting 54 percent from the field (15-of-28). The defense did its job, holding the Crusaders to just 26 percent from the field in the opening stanza.
 
For the second straight game, the Bulldogs received a red-hot opening half from Dydalewicz. She was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field on her way to 13 points.
 
Texas Lutheran scored the game's first six points and got out to a 10-2 lead, with Dydalewicz scoring seven of the team's first 10 points.
 
The Bulldogs never trailed the less than six the rest of the way. Leading 20-14, the Bulldogs opened up the lead with a 10-0 run capped off by a Lye layup with 5:23 left in the first half.
 
The second half was played to a virtual draw, with the Bulldogs doing a good job of not allowing a Crusader run to cut into the lead. The margin hovered between 16 and 22 for the entire half, until the final minutes.
 
Texas Lutheran will come home next weekend, after four straight road games. The second half of SCAC play begins next weekend, with the Bulldogs matching back up against Austin College and this same Dallas squad. The Bulldogs open the weekend looking to avenge Friday's loss against Austin College. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30. Live video and live stats are available via tlubulldogs.com.