Tyler, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team controlled the first three quarters but a costly turnover and missed shot in the final seconds were too much to overcome as the Cru fell to East Texas Baptist 73-70 in the Quarterfinals of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament Thursday in Tyler. The loss snaps UMHB's seven-game winning streak and ends the Cru's season at 15-11.

The Cru led by seven points early in the first quarter and took it out to as many as 12 points in the second before settling for a 36-29 lead at halftime. ETBU closed to within one point midway through the third before a late Cru run made it 55-47 UMHB entering the fourth quarter. The Tigers opened the period with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 57 and the two teams traded the lead into the final minute. Destini Oakmon's jumper gave the Cru a 65-64 lead with 52 seconds remaining, but April Leonard hit 5-6 from the free-throw line to give the Tigers a 69-65 advantage. Jonelle Smith was fouled on a three-point attempt and buried all three free-throws to cut it to 69-68 with nine seconds to go. After Cekret Davis went 2-2 from the line at the other end following a UMHB turnover, Oakmon drove the length of the floor and hit a lay-up to make it 71-70 ETBU with 1.1 remaining. Taylee Alexander made a pair of free throws for ETBU and UMHB's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

Smith led the Cru with 21 points and she was 10-10 from the free-throw line. Kendra Wynn and Kourtney Bevers added eight points apiece as nine different players scored for UMHB. Bridjai Chaney pulled down a team-best five rebounds and Oakmon finished with six points and four assists. The Cru shot just 34 percent from the field as a team and went 2-20 from three-point range. UMHB did hit 24-25 from the free-throw line, but the Cru was out rebounded 48-32 in the loss.

Alexander led ETBU with 20 points and nine rebounds on 7-11 shooting from the field. Leonard added 18 points and hit 4-7 from beyond the arc. Lauren Lee also reached double figures with 13 points. The Tigers shot 42 percent from the field and went 7-18 on three-pointers. ETBU's 18 second-chance points helped make up for 24 turnovers in the game.

The loss ends the UMHB playing careers of four Cru seniors. Kourtney Bevers, Tori Tucker, Ashlee Sargent and Mackenzie Coffey all played their final games in a UMHB uniform. The Tigers improve to 17-9 with the victory and advance to a 7:30 PM Semifinal on Friday against the winner of the U.T.-Tyler/Concordia Texas Quarterfinal game.