Box Score
Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team opened up a big second-half lead and the Cru held off a late Howard Payne charge to post a 63-59 victory over the Yellow Jackets Saturday afternoon in Belton. The UMHB women improve to 11-4 overall and 8-3 in American Southwest Conference play with their seventh straight victory. The loss drops Howard Payne to 12-3 overall and 8-3 in the ASC and the two teams are now tied for first place in the ASC West Division.
UMHB would build a 17-point lead at 51-34 with 6:52 remaining in the game before HPU came storming back. The Yellow Jackets would use a 13-0 run, capped by three straight Brittany Zamora three-pointers to close the gap to 51-47 with 4:57 to go. The Cru used a Caitlin Barganier three-point play and a Kellie Thomas jumper to push the lead back to eight points. The Yellow Jackets would cut the lead to four on two more occasions, but that's as close as HPU could get as the Cru iced the game from the free-throw line to nail down the victory. UMHB led 25-19 at halftime after holding the Yellow Jackets to 31 per cent shooting in the first half.
Lindsay Eaton led the Cru with 20 points and Kallie White added 12 points and six rebounds for UMHB. Jessica Kelly, Stacie Stephens and Barganier all added eight points apiece. The Cru also played the entire second half without starting point guard Mallory McAdams after McAdams was injured late in the first half. Zamora and Hope Hohertz topped Howard Payne with 14 points apiece.
UMHB shot 49 per cent from the field and hit 8-16 three-pointers in the game. The Cru held HPU to 42 per cent shooting from the field and 4-18 shooting from beyond the arc. UMHB also out rebounded the Yellow Jackets 32-25 to help overcome 22 Cru turnovers in the game.
The Cru will return to action with a 5:30 PM tip-off at Texas Lutheran University Thursday evening in Seguin. UMHB will then return home to host Schreiner University for a 1:00 PM start next Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center.
