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Basketball Teams Begin Postseason Journeys

UTD Women's Basketball

Junior forward Madison Steele averages 9.7 points and 5.5 rebounds a game for the women's basketball team.

The UT Dallas men’s and women's basketball teams will begin their march in the postseason Thursday as both open play on the road in their respective American Southwest Conference (ASC) tournaments.

The women’s team (14-11, 6-9 ASC), the defending conference champions, will face Howard Payne at 2:30 p.m. at the Herrington Patriot Center in Tyler. The Comets, seeded No. 4 from the East Division, are making their 10th consecutive trip to the tournament and will be looking to advance to at least the semifinals for the sixth straight season.  

UT Dallas boasts one of the top defenses in the conference, allowing just 64 points per game, which ranks third in the league. In addition, the Comets rank second in the ASC in rebounding margin, out-rebounding opponents by 3.1 boards per game.

UTD Men's Basketball

Sophomore point guard Caleb Banks leads the men's basketball team in scoring with 13.2 points per game.

Junior forward Micaela Gonzalez leads the Comets with 13.1 points and 8 rebounds per game while shooting 39 percent from the field. Gonzalez ranks 16th in the ASC in scoring and ninth in rebounding. Junior forward Madison Steele is second on the squad in both points (9.7) and rebounds (5.5) while shooting 38.2 percent.

The Comets are 9-13 all-time against Howard Payne, including a 68-57 home loss to the Lady Jackets on Jan. 4. The two teams have met on three previous occasions in the ASC Tournament with UT Dallas holding a 2-1 advantage.

Meanwhile, the men’s team (17-8, 9-6 ASC) will play its opening-round game against Hardin-Simmons at 5 p.m. Thursday, at the Gallego Center in Alpine. The Comets, seeded No. 2 from the East Division, are appearing in the tournament for the 13th straight season.

UT Dallas will play Hardin-Simmons for the fourth time in five years in the tournament and will look to advance to the semifinals for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.

The Comets rank second in the league in three-point shooting with a mark of 37 percent from beyond the arc, and are fifth overall in field goal percentage at 44.6 percent. In addition, UT Dallas has one of the stingiest defenses in the league, holding opponents to 69.2 points per game, while leading the ASC with a +7.8 scoring margin and ranking third in the conference in both field goal defense (42.5 percent) and three-point defense (33.2 percent).

Sophomore point guard Caleb Banks leads the Comets with 13.2 points per game as one of three players averaging double figures. Junior forward Kyle Coulter averages 11.5 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds a game, while sophomore guard Jon Hatcher is averaging 11 points per outing. Banks ranks third in the ASC with 5.6 assists per game and 15th in the league with 1.4 steals per contest.

The winners of the conference tournaments will earn automatic berths in the NCAA Division III National Championship tournaments.

2016 ASC Basketball Tournaments

Men's

Hosted by Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas

TodayGame 1 – Louisiana College vs. Concordia Texas, noonGame 2 – Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. East Texas Baptist, 2:30 p.m.Game 3 – Hardin-Simmons vs. UT Dallas, 5 p.m.Game 4 – Le Tourneau vs. Sul Ross State, 7:30 p.m.Friday SemifinalsGame 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m.Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m. SaturdayChampionship FinalGame 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4 p.m. 

Tournament CentralWatch LiveLive StatsTournament History

Women's

Hosted by The University of Texas at Tyler

TodayGame 1 – Hardin-Simmons vs. Le Tourneau, noonGame 2 – UT Dallas  vs. Howard Payne, 2:30 p.m.Game 3 – East Texas Baptist vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, 5 p.m.Game 4 – Concordia vs. UT Tyler, 7:30 p.m.Friday SemifinalsGame 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5 p.m.Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m. SaturdayChampionship FinalGame 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4 p.m. 

Tournament CentralWatch LiveLive StatsTournament History

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Media Contact: The Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].

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