BROWNWOOD, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team defeated Howard Payne University 83-59 Thursday evening in Brownwood. The Cru improved to 8-1 on the season and 4-0 in American Southwest Conference action while the Yellow Jackets fell to 5-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play. 

The Yellow Jackets opened the contest 4-0 before the Cru got on the board with a Kaitlyn Kollmorgen jumper. Howard Payne responded with a 13-4 run to go up by 11 at the 3:50 mark. A Kollmorgen layup sparked a nine-point run for UMHB, cutting the gap to three. The Yellow Jackets added two final layups to close the quarter ahead 24-17. 

The second quarter began with a basket on each end before the Cru scored six unanswered points to bring the game within two. UMHB continued to fight, taking their first lead 34-29 after a nine-point run. The Cru defense only allowed the Yellow Jackets six more points, expanding the lead to 44-35 to close the half. 

Arieona Rosborough led the Cru through the first half with 16 points while Alexis Carmosino and Kollmorgen each added eight. Rosborough and Kollmorgen also tacked on five rebounds each. 

UMHB had an explosive start to the second half, going on a 9-2 run to expand the gap to 16. The Yellow Jackets tacked on two layups but the Cru responded with 12 unanswered points to go up 65-41 at the 2:51 mark. The final two minutes of action went basket-for-basket, ending the third quarter with UMHB ahead 70-46. The final quarter played even 13-13 with Meagan Johnson and Rosborough each scoring four points each. UMHB secured the win, claiming the 83-59 victory.  

Rosborough led UMHB with a career-high 28 points, while Kollmorgen added 14 and Johnson totaled 10. Kollmorgen and Johnson both completed a double-double on the night, adding 10 rebounds each. 

UMHB returns to action on Saturday, December 16th in a 1:00 p.m. contest against Sul Ross State University in Alpine.