BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team used a late offensive surge to earn a 60-49 win over University of California Santa Cruz Monday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 9-3 on the season while the Banana Slugs moved to 10-3.  
 
The first quarter played evenly with UMHB outscoring the Banana Slugs 12-11 in the period. UC Santa Cruz took a three-point lead in the second but UMHB responded with back-to-back baskets to regain the lead. The Cru pulled away with a 9-4 run, led by Payton Hicks with five points. UMHB held the Banana Slugs to just four points in the final two minutes to close the half up 34-28.
 
UMHB shot 46.9 percent in the half, highlighted by a 66.7 percentage in the second quarter. Arieona Rosborough led the Cru with 11 points in the half while Jaycie Brisco added four rebounds.
 
The Banana Slugs cut the lead to two points in the third quarter but UMHB maintained offensive consistency to keep advantage. UMHB held UCSC scoreless through the final 1:43 of the third quarter and did not give up another score until the 8:52 mark of the fourth quarter. The Banana Slugs pulled within one point but Lauren Baker responded with a pair of foul shots to put the Cru up by three again. UMHB led by as many as 13 points in the quarter, ending in a 60-49 UMHB victory.
 
UMHB shot 35.7 percent in the contest with a 31.3 percentage from beyond the arc. Arieona Rosborough led the Cru with 15 points while Payton Hicks and Jaycie Brisco added seven. Rosborough added a team-high seven rebounds while Baker led the Cru with five assists. UMHB forced 22 turnovers in the contest with 13 steals. The Cru scored 22 points in the paint with 12 points off turnovers and 24 points off the bench.  
 
UMHB returns to action in a pair of road games next week. UMHB opens with a 5:30 p.m. game at University of the Ozarks on Thursday, January 5^th before taking on UT Dallas on Saturday, January 7^th.