ABILENE, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team outscored the No. 18 Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls in both second-half quarters, earning a 74-68 win in Abilene. The win improved the Cru to 13-6 on the season and 3-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowgirls fell to 16-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.
 
Hardin-Simmons scored 16 seconds into the first quarter before Adyson James answered with a layup at 9:31 to knot the contest at two. Katelen Brooks followed that with a jumper with Rachel Okoye adding another at 7:57 for a 6-2 Cru margin. UMHB held the high ground until the 4:20 mark when Jacqueline Berry made a layup for an 11-10 Cowgirl lead. Josie Bruder answered with a jumper for the Cru before Madison Williams hit a three-pointer for another Cowgirl margin. HSU held on to the lead for the rest of the quarter, going into the second up 18-16. 
 
UMHB fought back in the second, tying the contest at 24 with 6:42 to play. HSU went back ahead, taking a five-point lead but the Cru chipped away at it, tying the contest at 30 with less than three minutes to go. A pair of free throws from Brooks gave the Cru a 32-30 lead but the Cowgirls answered with a 6-0 run. Karlee Cronk hit a pair of foul shots in the final minute, followed by two from HSU for a 38-34 Cowgirl lead at the half. 
 
Adyson James and Rachel Okoye teamed up at the open of the third quarter to even the contest at 38 before Josie Bruder hit a three-pointer at 8:42 for another Crusader lead. UMHB extended that lead to five and held the high ground until 3:37when a free throw from HSU tied the game at 49. Aiken Semones hit a three-pointer to put the Cowgirls back on top with just over two minutes to play. The Cru held the Cowgirls scoreless for the final 2:11 of action with a layup from Adyson James and a jumper from Amillion Fowler giving UMHB a 53-52 lead going into the fourth. 
 
The fourth toggled basket-for-basket with neither team leading by more than four points. Josie Bruder hit a three-pointer at the 2:28 mark to pull UMHB within one and Karlee Cronk followed with layups at 2:05 and 1:53 for a 68-65 Cru margin. The Cowgirls pulled within one but Bruder added two points at 1:06 to give UMHB a three-point lead in the final minute of play. The Cowgirls managed one more free throw at 00:48 while UMHB added free throws from Amillion Fowler, Adyson James and Katelen Brooks to seal the 74-68 win. 
 
Brooks led the Cru with 17 points while Josie Bruder added 15. Rachel Okoye and Karlee Cronk each put up 12 points, followed by Adyson James with 11 as the Cru had five scorers in double-digits. James tallied a double-double with 10 rebounds, adding three assists, one steal and one block. Jaycie Brisco put up eight rebounds and led the cru with six assists while Bruder had three blocks. 
 
UMHB shot 50.9 in the contest, scoring 40 points in the paint and 13 points off turnovers. 
 
The Cru returns to action on Thursday, February 6^th in a 5:30 p.m. contest against the University of Texas at Dallas at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.