Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team could not put Concordia Texas away and the Tornados buried a buzzer-beater to knock off the Cru 73-71 Saturday afternoon in Belton. The loss drops the UMHB women to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in American Southwest Conference play. Concordia improves to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the ASC on the year with the victory.
UMHB led by five points at 67-62 with 3:57 remaining, but Concordia fought back to tie it at 69-69 with 1:59 left to play. Bridjai Chaney's put-back gave the Cru a 71-69 edge with 1:28 left, but Isis Johnson tied the game at 71 just 15 seconds later. The Cru had two chances to take the lead in the final 50 seconds but could not convert. Johnson's rebound set up the final possession and her desperation jumper was good at the buzzer to clinch the win. The Cru grabbed an early 8-0 lead before the Tornados started to chip away and cut it to 34-32 at halftime on the strength of Concordia's hot three-point shooting.
Alyssa Dean led UMHB with 19 points but 15 of those came in the first half. Taylor Tucker added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Chaney had 10 points and a game-high 12 boards. The Cru shot just 33 percent from the field and went 4-10 from three-point range. UMHB out rebounded the Tornados 50-36 in the loss.
Camille Horman topped Concordia with 17 points and she hit 5-9 from three-point range. Emily Cullers added 16 points on 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Johnson had 15 points for the Tornados. Concordia was 8-14 from three-point range in the first half and went 12-24 from beyond the arc in the game. The Tornados shot 48 percent from the field as a team in the contest.
The Cru returns to action with a 5:30 PM home game against Louisiana College next Thursday, December 18th. UMHB will close out the calendar year with a non-conference game at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio on December 29th.