The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women’s basketball team pulled away in the second quarter and never looked back as the Cru rolled to a 96-68 victory over LeTourneau University in an American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament First Round game Thursday in Brownwood. UMHB will now advance to a 5:00 PM Semifinal Game on Friday. The loss ends the Yellowjackets season at 13-13.
The Cru opened the game with a 10-2 only to see LeTourneau battle back for a 14-13 lead. UMHB scored seven of the final nine points of the first quarter to lead 20-16 after one period. The Cru started to pull away midway through the second quarter. UMHB closed that period with a 10-0 run to take a 44-28 edge into halftime. The Cru would lead by as many as 19 points in the early going of the third quarter before LeTourneau closed to within eight points at 47-39 with 5:37 left. UMHB answered with a 16-6 run to go into the fourth quarter with a 63-45 lead. The Cru scored the first four points of the final period and led by at least 19 points the rest of the way to coast to the victory.
Kendall Rollins led a balanced UMHB scoring attack with 17 points on 8-12 shooting. Destini Oakmon hit 5-8 from the field for 13 points, Kendra Wynn had 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds and Meghan Turner, Alexandria Howze and Tashyra Banks all chipped in 10 points apiece. Ten different players scored for the Cru. UMHB shot 65 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and finished at 50 percent as a team. The Cru was 11-24 from three-point range and forced 19 turnovers in the game.
Crystal Jones led LeTourneau with 19 points. Latanya Drakes added 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Yellowjackets shot just 29 percent as a team and went 6-26 from beyond the arc. LeTourneau did out rebound UMHB 51-48 and pulled down 23 offensive rebounds in the contest.
The Cru women will face the U.T. Dallas-Sul Ross State winner in Friday’s Semifinals. UMHB is the only ASC team to have beaten the Comets this season and the Cru swept the season series from the Lobos. The winner of Friday’s Semifinals will move on to the ASC Women’s Basketball Championship Game on Saturday at 6:00 PM. The ASC Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships.
