BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team earned a 72-61 win over University of the Ozarks Thursday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 12-1 on the season and 5-0 in American Southwest Conference action while the Eagles fell to 3-9 overall and 0-4 in league play.
 
Arieona Rosborough opened the game with six consecutive points but the Eagles responded each time, taking the game to a 6-6 tie before the media timeout. The game played within two points before Rosborough hit a three-pointer at the 3:29 mark to spark a 9-2 run, putting UMHB on top by five points. Ozarks responded with a three-pointer with nine seconds left in the frame to cut the gap to two points.
 
The second quarter continued in one-possession play until the 4:18 mark in the second quarter when Rosborough made a free-throw for a five-point margin. Kaitlyn Kollmorgen and Rosborough followed that with back-to-back jumpers for a 31-22 lead. Ozarks cut the gap to seven but Lauren Baker put two more on the board for UMHB with 21 seconds left before Rosborough hit a three-pointer from well beyond the arc at the buzzer, giving UMHB a 36-24 halftime lead.
 
Rosborough led the Cru with 21 first-half points, going 9-for-12 from the field with two three-pointers. Alexis Carmosino added eight rebounds while five different Crusaders recorded assists and five different Crusaders added steals.
 
UMHB took a double-digit lead less than two minutes into the third quarter off a jumper from Kaitlyn Kollmorgen. UMHB extended that lead to 15 points with 4:37 to play in the quarter and went into the final frame with an 11-point margin.
 
Ozarks cut the gap to two possessions to open the fourth quarter but UMHB held on to at least a seven-point lead down the stretch to earn the 71-62 win.
 
Rosborough finished with a career-high 31 points, adding nine rebounds and one assist. Lauren Baker added 11 total points in the contest while Kaitlyn Kollmorgen and Ashley Faux each added nine. Faux led the Cru with 14 total rebounds while Carmosino added 10. UMHB shot 40 percent in the contest, draining 30 field goals and four three-pointers. UMHB allowed a 37.9 percentage from the Eagles, out-rebounding Ozarks 53-37 in the contest and forcing 17 turnovers.
 
UMHB returns to action on Saturday, January 6^th in a 1 p.m. contest against the University of Texas at Dallas at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.