Photo GalleryBELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team fell to No. 7 University of Texas at Tyler 68-63 Saturday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Patriots to 13-1 on the season and 7-0 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cru fell to 4-8 on the season and 0-3 in conference play.
The Patriots led early in the contest, outscoring the Cru 22-20 in the first quarter. U.T.-Tyler opened the second quarter with a 10-3 run, leading by as many as 12 points before ending the half with a 41-31 advantage. UMHB responded strong in the third quarter, outscoring the Patriots 19-13 to cut the lead to four points before grabbing its first lead of the game by a one-point margin with 7:32 left to play. The Cru and U.T.-Tyler exchanged leads five more times before the Patriots used an 8-3 run to close out the game in the final three minutes of play.
Jonelle Smith led the Cru with 15 points,
Bridjai Chaney added11 while
Tori Tucker and
Kourtney Bevers each put up eight. Bevers and Tucker also led UMHB's rebounding efforts with six each, followed by Chaney with five.
Destini Oakmon led all athletes with six assists while Tucker recorded a game-high three steals. UMHB totaled 42 rebounds in the contest, 20 assists and eight steals, forcing the Patriots into 17 turnovers.
D'Onna Matthews and Michelle Obach led the Patriots with 16 points each followed by Re'Elle Miller with 10. U.T.-Tyler totaled 48 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals in the contest. UMHB ended the game with a 36.5 shooting percentage and a 57.1 percentage from the line. The Patriots shot 35.6 percent in the contest and 70.8 percent from the line.
UMHB continues play on Thursday, January 14
th at 5:30 p.m. at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall. The Cru returns home on Saturday, January 16
th for a 1 p.m. game against Concordia University Texas at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.
