BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team fought hard but could not overcome an overtime deficit, falling 88-85 to the Hardin-Simmons University Cowgirls Saturday afternoon in Belton. The loss dropped the Cru to 20-5 on the season and 12-4 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowgirls improved to 22-3 overall and 14-2 in league play.
Hardin-Simmons opened the game with a three-pointer from Anna Fanelli. Bruder followed with a jumper for the Cru before the Cowgirls made a foul shot for a 4-2 lead. Bruder again answered for the Cru, evening the game at four before Paris Kiser responded with five for the Cowgirls. The Cowgirls held a one-possession lead until the 1:33 mark when Paris Kiser made a three-pointer for a six-point margin. Both teams scored to close the quarter, giving HSU a 22-15 lead after the first frame.
Arieona Rosborough cut the gap to four points with 9:01 in the second quarter but the Cowgirls persisted, lengthening the gap to seven. UMHB fought back hard after the media time out, dwindling the lead down to just one point. The Cru tied the contest at 36 with 53 seconds to play in the half but the Cowgirls upped the score again, going into the half with a 39-39 lead.
Rosborough led the Cru with 14 first-half points while Lauren Baker added six. UMHB shot 37.8 percent in the first half with 13 field goals and 24 points in the paint.
UMHB opened the third quarter with a jumper but the Cowgirls responded with a field goal and three-pointer to extend the lead to six. UMHB cut the gap to four but the Cowgirls again extended that lead, leading by as many as nine in the quarter and closing the frame with a 61-59 lead.
Kynnan Shields hit a jumper to open the fourth quarter and put the Cowgirls up by three before the Cru responded with jumpers form Remi Adeleke and Ashley Faux to go ahead by one. The game played basket-for-basket from there, sending the contest into overtime knotted at 79.
Paris Kiser hit a three-pointer to open the overtime period for the Cowgirls and followed that with a pair of foul shots for an 84-79 lead. Jaycie Brisco answered for the Cru but Kiser hit another jumper for another five-point margin. Lauren Baker answered again, hitting a jumper at 2:06 before Samantha Tatum scored the 88th point for the Cowgirls. Ella Hartmann made clutch free throws at 1:29 to cut the gap to just one possession but neither team scored again, giving Hardin-Simmons the 88-85 win.
Rosborough led the Cru with 21 points while Lauren Baker added 20. Ashley Faux, Alexis Carmosino and Remi Adeleke all finished with 10 points as UMHB shot 43.2 percent in the contest. Adeleke led the Cru with 11 total rebounds while Brisco had a team-high six assists and Rosborough recorded four steals.
UMHB moves on as the No. 2 seed in the 2024 American Southwest Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Cru open play in the tournament on Friday, February 23rd at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.
