Pirates outscore ‘Cru by 11 in second half to earn 81-70 win

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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Audrey Garcia's three pointer with 2:10 remaining gave SU a two point lead that they would not relinquish as Southwestern took down Mary Hardin Baylor 81-79 on Saturday afternoon.

The first five minutes of the game set the tone as the lead changed hands 4 times, but UMHB took the lead 11-10 and extended it to 11 points, 28-17, with 8L47 to go in the first half.

Southwestern clawed their way back and pulled within two points, 30-28 with 5:23 remaining after a pair of free throws by Annie Bourne. The Cru closed the half on a 15-8 run to send the Pirates into the break down nine, 45-36.

Mary Hardin-Baylor opened the second half to earn their largest lead of the game 13 points, 56-43, four minutes in and seemed to have the game in hand. SU had a different agenda, however, as they began to chip away at the lead with a huge effort from Jordan Owens. Owens scored eight points in six minutes to bring SU within one, 62-61, with 10:16 on the clock.

With six minutes to play Garcia took over as she hit a three, drained all three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc and hit a second three in a four minute time span to give the Pirates the lead for the first time since five minutes into the game.

Chelsea Leeder went 4-4 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes to seal the win for the Pirates.

Southwestern earned 17 second chance points while only allowing nine to UMHB, outrebounding the Cru 44-41. SU shot just 37.7% from the floor and 25% from beyond the arc, but earned 31 points from the free throw line while shooting 83.8%.

Leeder led all scorers with 20 points while Owens added in 16, Garcia 15 and Annie Bourne 11. Bourne was the leading rebounder in the game, pulling down 15 boards. Alyssa Dean led UMHB with 17 points.

With the win Southwestern improves to 2-3 on the year while UMHB falls to 0-2. SU remains in San Antonio to face Southern Arkansas University at 2 p.m. on Sunday.