BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team earned a 77-71 win over McMurry University Thursday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 20-4 on the season and 12-3 in American Southwest Conference action while the War Hawks fell to 15-9 overall and 9-6 in league play.
 
McMurry opened the first quarter with a three-pointer and held the high ground until the 5:19 mark when UMHB evened the contest at 10. The Cru tied the game with four unanswered points, split by Alexis Carmosino and Arieona Rosborough.
 
Carmosino gave the Cru its first lead of the game with a three-pointer at the 4:34 mark. McMurry added one point off a foul shot at 3:37 before the Cru responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Lauren Baker and Ashley Faux for a 19-11 lead. Ashton Garner ended the half with a jumper for the War Hawks, giving UMHB a 19-13 lead after the first frame. Rosborough led the Cru with six first-half shots, followed by Carmosino with five.
 
The Cru extended the lead back to five early in the second quarter but a McMurry three-pointer cut the gap with 8:53 to play. Baker responded with another three-pointer for a 24-20 lead but the War Hawks persisted, pulling the quarter within two. Josie Bruder hit a jumper at the 8:01 mark and the game played scoreless until 5:55 when Ella Hartmann made a three-pointer. The Cru took a double-digit margin at the 5:21 mark off a three-pointer from Jaycie Brisco and held at least a six-point lead for the duration of the first half, going into halftime up 41-32.
 
Rosborough led the Cru with 12 first-half points, followed by Carmosino with seven. UMHB shot 38.9 percent in the first two quarters with seven three-pointers.
 
The third quarter played scoreless until the 9:06 mark when UMHB broke the drought with a free throw. McMurry followed with a pair of foul shots and continued to cut into the Cru's lead, but Baker responded with a three-pointer at 6:23 to put the margin back at nine. McMurry answered with 11 unanswered points, taking a 49-47 lead with 2:39 left in the third. UMHB quickly evened the contest at 49 and took a six-point lead with free throws from Brisco and Rosborough. McMurry added two last-second free throws in the quarter to cut the gap to one possession with one frame left to play.
 
Helena Chadwick cut the gap to just one point off a three-pointer at 9:26 before the War Hawks reclaimed the lead off a jumper from Emily Holland. Carmosino knotted the contest with a free throw at 7:36. Both teams followed with field goals before the Cru used a foul shot from Faux and a three-pointer from Baker to take a 62-58 lead with 5:41 to play.
 
UMHB extended the gap to as many as nine points but McMurry fought back, cutting the lead to four. The quarter continued to play within eight points with the War Hawks cutting the gap to one possession with a jumper from Kylie Flippin at the 00:20 mark. Rosborough extended the Cru's lead to five with a pair of foul shots off a technical foul with 14 seconds to play before Jaycie Brisco added one more, giving the Cru the 77-71 win.
 
Rosborough led the Cru with 26 points, followed by Lauren Baker with 12 and Ashley Faux with 11. UMHB shot 32.4 percent in the contest, making nine three-pointers and 23 field goals. Rosborough was also the Cru's leading rebounder with 11, followed by Carmosino and Brisco with eight each. Baker added a team-high three assists while Brisco added five steals and two blocks. UMHB totaled 22 points off turnovers with 20 points in the paint and 12 fast break points.
 
UMHB returns to action on Saturday, February 17^th in a 1 p.m. contest against Hardin-Simmons University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton. The Cru will also celebrate senior day and close out the regular season with a matchup against the top two teams in the ASC.