Capitalizing from a masterful twenty-six point explosion in the first quarter, the University of Santo Tomas Lady Tigresses cruised to their third win in the UAAP Women’s Basketball Tournament, 69-54.
The Lady Tigresses closed out the first quarter with a lead they never relinquished, 26-15, with Melanie Siapoc draining 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half to help UST gain the upper hand early on.
The Lady Warriors would churn out 28 points in the second and third quarters combined, outscoring the Lady Tigresses’ 23. However, the Lady Tigresses would come alive in the fourth quarter once more, beating back a stealthy UE comeback that cut the lead to as low as five points in the early fourth quarter. The Lady Tigresses would pour in 20 points in the quarter, capitalizing on faulty ball handling and foul trouble from UE, and regain a steady double digit lead in the final minutes of the ballgame.
Melanie Siapoc had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal for the Lady Tigresses. Three other players scored in the double digits for UST, with Maica Cortes scoring 14 points along with 11 rebounds, Lore Rivera scoring 12, and Jen Angeles scoring 11. Love Joy Sto. Domingo meanwhile led the scoring for the Lady Warriors with 12 points and 18 boards.
Despite escaping with the win, two Lady Tigresses had to be sidelined in the fourth quarter after suffering from bad fouls: Lore Rivera, after a foul by UE center Eunique Chan, and Sofia Felisarta after supposedly being hit in the torso while going for a rebound.
