IRVING, Texas -- The #RV Texas Lutheran women's basketball team dug deep for an epic comeback win over Ozarks (AR), beating the third-seeded Eagles 84-78 in overtime to advance to their eighth straight SCAC Tournament semifinal. The 162 combined points tied for the seventh-most in a SCAC women's basketball tournament game.
A number of Bulldogs stepped up to lead the Bulldogs to the comeback victory as TLU outscored the Eagles 54-47 in the second half and overtime to improve to 19-7 overall. The Eagles finish their season 13-13 after taking their second loss of the season to the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs will now face the one-seed from the Blue Division, Austin College in the SCAC semifinals on Saturday at 7 PM.
Texas Lutheran would lead for just over 21 minutes on Friday but did not hit their stride offensively until overtime, as the 22-point five-minute overtime period was their highest scoring period of the night. The first quarter was as even as they come as the two teams ended the opening ten minutes tied 17-all. Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter but Ozarks would carry a 31-30 lead into halftime. TLU controlling the glass by outrebounding the Eagles, led by eight rebounds off the bench from Zaria Solis (Burnet/Burnet) kept the Eagles from stretching their lead beyond their one-point advantage.
Texas Lutheran controlled the third quarter but still trailed by one point entering the fourth. While Ozarks attempted to put the Bulldogs away, Davi'Yanna Jones (San Antonio/Stevens) led the Bulldogs through the fourth with eight of her 21 points in the fourth. Despite the Eagles leading by five with 1:27 remaining, the Bulldogs refused to quit. Lauren Sansano (San Antonio/FEAST) cut the deficit to three with 1:16 remaining before Sarahi Jones (Los Fresnos/Los Fresnos) came through in the clutch for the second straight SCAC quarterfinal. After sinking a pair of free throws last season to send the two teams to overtime, Jones nailed a second chance three pointer with 23 seconds left to tie the game at 62. Jones had a chance to win the game at the buzzer at the end of regulation but her floater rimmed out.
Texas Lutheran saved their best for last outscoring Ozarks 22-16 in overtime to secure the six-point win.
TLU finished the game shooting 39.2 percent overall and won the battle of the boards 49-42, including 17 offensive rebounds. Texas Lutheran was paced by a 23-point, 12-assist double-double from senior Lauren Sansano who also added eight rebounds and four steals. With her 23 point performance, Sansano passed Valerie Walker (1,157) and Taylor Dydalewicz (1,159) to move into seventh all-time in program history with 1,165 career points. Her 12 assists are not only the third most in a single-game in program history, but ties the single-game tournament record, shared now with Lauren Andrews of Trinity (2007) and Josie Napoli of Trinity (2025). She was joined in double figures by Davi'Yanna Jones, who recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 21 points and ten rebounds while adding three steals. Sarahi Jones added 19 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists with 15 of those points coming in the second half and overtime. Hannah Gallegos (San Antonio/Harlan) was the final Bulldog in double figures with 13 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Zaria Solis added two points and two blocks to her eight rebounds, all of which came in the first half.
Texas Lutheran and Austin College will meet in the 2026 SCAC Semifinals in a rematch of the 2024 SCAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 7 PM. The game will be streamed on FloCollege. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.
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