MARSHALL, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team dropped a road contest to conference-leader East Texas Baptist University Saturday afternoon in Marshall. The Cru fell to 15-8 on the season while the Tigers improved to 20-4. ETBU leads the American Southwest Conference with a 7-0 record in conference play while the Cru holds second at 4-2.
UMHB opened the contest on a 9-4 run before the Tigers answered with six unanswered points to take the lead. ETBU continued the streak, putting up four more points before a jumper from
Amillion Fowler ended the drought for the Cru. ETBU answered with a three-pointer from Payton Hicks and went on to score five more points in the frame, taking a 22-11 lead after the first quarter of action.
Abby Levings opened second-quarter scoring with a free throw for the Cru, followed by a layup from
Rachel Okoye. Hicks responded with another shot from beyond the arc to put the Tigers back up by double-digits. ETBU held that margin until a 5-0 run from the Cru cut the gap to nine. A pair of free throws extended the margin to double-digits once again as the Tigers' lead fell to singles just once more in the final 4:09 of action, both teams putting up 17 points in the second.
Neither team scored until the 6:12 mark in the third quarter when
Adyson James banked a pair of foul shots. ETBU added three more trips to the line, going 6-for-6 in foul shots and adding one more before Hannah Ayala finally broke the field drought, hitting a jumper with 4:36 left in the quarter. UMHB scored six more points in the quarter as the Tigers outscored the Cru 17-9 in the frame.
ETBU continued rolling in the fourth, shooting 43.75 percent from the field with a trio of three-pointers and five foul shots. The Tigers put up 22 points in the final 10 minutes, en route to the 78-46 win.
Katelen Brooks led the Cru with 12 points while every other member of the team scored at least one.
Karlee Cronk led the Cru with seven rebounds while
Amillion Fowler had three assists and
Rachel Okoye put up four steals.
UMHB returns to action on Thursday, February 20
th in a 5:30 p.m. contest against Hardin-Simmons University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.