BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team dropped a 74-64 decision to McMurry University Wednesday in Belton. The loss dropped the Cru to 8-3 on the season while the War Hawks improved to 5-1. 
 
McMurry opened the game on a 4-0 streak and held the lead until 5:58 when Katelen Brooks hit a jumper for a 5-4 Cru lead. McMurry answered with back-to-back three-pointers to go back ahead by five. The War Hawks extended the lead to seven before the Cru chipped away with a layup from Josie Bruder and a pair of foul shots from Rachel Okoye. 
 
Okoye made a jumper at the 1:55 mark to pull within four before both teams exchanged baskets. Jaycie Brisco hit another jumper with 33 seconds remaining to cut the gap to 19-17 after the first quarter. 
 
UMHB came out sprinting in the second quarter, quickly tying the game at 20 and taking a lead with 8:52 to go. Jaycie Brisco hit a jumper at 7:14 to put the Cru up by three but McMurry quickly cut the gap back to one. Katelen Brooks responded with a three-pointer at 5:47 to give the Cru a four-point lead before Bruder extended that with a trio of free throws. The Cru added five more points in the 11-point run to take a 34-22 margin and held the high ground, going into halftime with a 41-35 lead. 
 
The War Hawks cut the gap to four early in the third quarter and the game toggled between two possessions for the remainder of the quarter. McMurry used a fourth-quarter surge to tie the contest at 61 with 4:38 to play and took the lead off a three-pointer from Emily Holland at 3:30. Holland added a pair of foul shots less than 30 seconds later and hit another three at the 2:34 mark for an eight-point lead. 
 
UMHB cut the lead down to seven before the War Hawks used a free throw and jumper to take a double-digit margin. Bruder hit two more free throws at 00:37 but McMurry held on, draining two foul shots and earning the 74-64 win. 
 
Bruder led the Cru with 23 points in the contest, going 11-for-15 from the foul line. Katelen Brooks added 15 points for the Cru while Adyson James tallied 10. James and Rachel Okoye each added a team-high seven rebounds while Okoye had four assists and Brooks added two steals. 
 
UMHB totaled 18 points in the paint with 12 points off turnovers and 26 points from the bench. The Cru returns to action on Sunday, December 29th in a 2 p.m. contest at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.