BELTON, Texas – On a night where defense was the story, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team came up with big stops when it had to down the stretch as the Cru held off Sul Ross State 69-63 Thursday evening in Belton. UMHB improves to 11-7 overall and 7-6 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops the Lobos to 8-13 overall and 6-5 in the ASC on the year.
 
The two teams were tied at 41 going into the final period before the offense's finally broke through. The Lobos would open up a four-point lead on a pair of occasions early in the period but Bethany McLeod's jumper tied the game at 59-59 with 1:35 left to play. The Cru defense came up with a steal on the next Sul Ross possession and turned it into Alexia Martin's jumper and a 61-59 lead. Another Cru steal lead to two Hannah Eggleston free throws and a 63-59 edge and UMHB would continue to get stops and stretch the lead out to eight points before coasting to the win.
 
The Cru led just 9-5 after an opening period that saw the Lobos go scoreless for the first five minutes of the game. Sul Ross would bounce back for a 26-24 halftime lead before UMHB battled back to tie it at 41-41 going into the final ten minutes.
 
Ashley Faux provided a spark off the bench for the Cru, scoring a team-best12 points on 5-8 shooting. Eggleston and Brooke Elliott added 10 points apiece and Taylor Kollmorgen grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. UMHB shot just 33 percent from the field as a team and was just 2-13 from beyond the arc. The Cru was 21-23 from the stripe including several clutch free-throws in the final minute. UMHB also out rebounded Sul Ross 47-44 on the night.
 
Vania Hampton led the Lobos with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Cassie Hogan added 16 points off the bench and Alexis Carmosino and Ashley Nunez scored 11 points apiece. Sul Ross was held to just 37 percent shooting from the field and 2-15 from beyond the arc in the loss.
 
The Cru women will close out the regular season with a 1 pm tip against Howard Payne University on Saturday. UMHB has already clinched a berth in the ASC Championship Tournament, but seeding and the Cru's first round opponent won't be determined until after Saturday's games.