Belton, TX— The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team could not overcome Howard Payne's 14-2 first-half run on the way to a 76-55 loss to the Yellow Jackets Thursday night in Belton. The Cru falls to 2-16 overall and 1-13 in American Southwest Conference play with the loss. Howard Payne improves to 16-2 overall and 12-2 in the ASC with the victory.
UMHB kept it close through the early going, trailing only 22-18 with 5:48 left in the first half. That's when HPU erupted for a 154-2 run to take control of the game and the Yellow Jackets led 41-22 at halftime. UMHB would never get closer than the final margin in the second half after the Yellow Jackets led by as many as 32 points.
Jovana Miles topped the Cru with 12 points off the bench and she added a team-high seven rebounds. Miranda Shorter and Carmen Maciel chipped in 11 points apiece. UMHB shot just 32 percent from the field and went just 3-16 from three-point range in the loss.
Roshonda Gayden led a balanced HPU scoring effort with 14 points and she pulled down eight rebounds. Dana Marrs added 13 points and 13 different players scored for the Yellow Jackets. HPU shot 52 percent from the field and drained 10-28 from beyond the arc.
The Cru will wrap up its home stand with a 1:00 PM tip-off against Sul Ross State on Saturday. UMHB will then hit the road to face Howard Payne and Sul Ross State next week.