Abilene, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team held off Hardin-Simmons with clutch free throw shooting down the stretch and the Cru posted an 85-78 victory over the Cowgirls Saturday afternoon in Abilene. UMHB finishes the regular season at 13-12 overall and 9-11 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss ends Hardin-Simmons' regular season at 12-13 overall and 10-10 in the ASC.

After a see-saw first half that featured five ties and 11 lead changes, Hardin-Simmons held a 41-39 edge at the break. UMHB led by seven points late in the half, but the Cowgirls closed the session with an 8-0 run to grab the lead. The Cru fought back and built a 10-point lead at 59-49 with 9:34 remaining. That lead would grow to as many as 13 before HSU started to chip away. The Cowgirls closed to with 82-78 with 20 seconds left, but UMHB hit three free throws and held HSU scoreless the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

Alyssa Dean led the Cru with 20 points and she was 10-12 from the free throw line. Macy Moore added 18 points, Taylor Tucker had 16 points and nine rebounds and Jonelle Smith chipped in 15 points. UMHB shot 44 percent from the field as a team and went 5-7 from three-point range. The Cru also hit 34-44 from the free throw line.

Joanna Daniel had a game-high 22 points to lead Hardin-Simmons. Sara Vargas totaled 17 off the bench and Taylor Klement scored 11 more. HSU shot 42 percent from the field and was 6-15 from beyond the arc. The Cowgirls hit 20-29 from the free throw line and out rebounded the Cru 39-37 in the game.

UMHB's win, coupled with Concordia's loss at U.T.-Dallas makes the Cru the #6 seed in next week's ASC Championship Tournament. UMHB will face #3 seed Louisiana College in a First Round Game next Thursday. U.T.-Tyler will host the ASC Championship Tournament Thursday through Saturday. The ASC Tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships.