In today's season opener against the Southwestern University Pirates the University of Dallas women's basketball team made a statement with their overwhelming 72-60 victory. Opening the campaign on one's home court has its advantages, and UD utilized them to the full extent. Up 37 to 19 at the break, the Crusader defense thwarted the Pirates comeback efforts and prevailed by 12 points.

Leading UD in both scoring and rebounding was junior forward Cara Sczepanski (Highland Village, TX/Marcus H.S.) who finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds to start off the season with the double-double. One of the elder statesmen on the squad, Sczepanski shot 8-16 from the field and 6-7 from the charity stripe in the impressive season debut. Three others joined Sczepanski in double figure point totals as the team shot 44 percent from the field in the pivotal first half. Freshman guard Kylie Yoshimura (Temple City, CA/Mark Keppel H.S.) added 16 points, freshman guard Brielle Money (Dallas, TX/Dallas Christian Academy) recorded 14 points, and sophomore guard Kelly Regan (Plano, TX/John Paul II H.S.) chipped in 10 points and 12 boards. Yoshimura also ran the point successfully and finished with a team high 8 assists, while chipping in 2 rebounds and a steal.

Next up for the UD women's basketball team is the Tip Off Tournament hosted by Austin College in Sherman, TX next Friday and Saturday. UD takes on Spalding University at 6:00pm on Friday and Texas Lutheran University at 2:00pm on Saturday.