BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team used a dominant second half to earn a 71-61 win over Sul Ross State University Saturday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Lobos fell to 6-6 on the season and 3-2 in league play.
Offense plagued both teams in the first quarter with the Lobos leading 9-4 at the break.
Payton Hicks opened the game with a jumper for the Cru at 9:25. Sul Ross held UMHB scoreless from there until the 2:33 mark when
Arieona Rosborough made a layup for the Cru's four points.
Aja Holmes opened the second quarter with a layup to cut the gap to three. Sul Ross used a 7-3 lead to gain a 16-8 advantage but UMHB started chipping away.
Catalina Cortez and
Kirsten Zaruba hit back-to-back three pointers to keep it close but the Lobos maintained a steady scoring stream, staying ahead until 5:04 left in the quarter when
Payton Hicks hit a jumper to even the contest at 22.
Ashley Faux drained a three on the next offensive possession to give UMHB a 25-22 advantage.
Arieona Rosborough followed that with a jumper for a five-point lead. UMHB held advantage through the final minutes to go into halftime up 30-29.
Sul Ross took the lead back to open the second half and led by as many as five points before the Cru fought back to take a one-point lead with 6:44 left in the third. The Cru pulled away with an eight-point run late in the quarter and held on to a five-point lead going into the final ten minutes of action. UMHB held on to a lead of at least three points for the duration of the fourth quarter, earning a 71-61 win over the Lobos.
Kenna Gibson led the Cru with 15 points, followed by
Arieona Rosborough with 12. UMHB shot 42.9 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc. Rosoborough led the Cru with 10 rebounds, followed by
Ashley Faux with six.
Catalina Cortez was the Cru's assist leader with four while Rosborough added a team-high four steals.
UMHB returns to action on Monday, December 19
th in a 6 p.m. game at Trinity University in San Antonio.
