BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team used a late offensive surge in the fourth quarter to earn a 56-47 win over Hardin-Simmons University Thursday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 13-6 on the season and 6-4 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowgirls fell to 7-11 overall and 3-7 in league play.

UMHB trailed 3-6 early in the first before using an 11-0 run led by Kendra Wynn with seven points to lead the Cowgirls 16-9 after the first quarter. The Cru held a steady lead in the second quarter, ending the first half with a 24-20 lead. Wynn led all players with nine points after two quarters of play as UMHB shot 31 percent.

The Cru led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before the Cowgirls cut the lead to three points with 1:44 remaining. Jonelle Smith hit a pair of free throws late in the third to extend the Cru's lead to five points heading into the fourth quarter with the Cowgirls shooting just 37.5 percent from the free throw line. Hardin-Simmons cut the lead again to a one-point advantage before Kendall Rollins entered the contest with 7:26 left on the clock and scored seven points to help UMHB regain a substantial lead. Hardin-Simmons made just four of seven free throws in the fourth quarter as the Cru held on to a nine-point win.

Wynn led the Cru with 19 points followed by Wynn with 10 and Jonelle Smith with eight. Meghan Turner recorded four assists while Wynn and Smith each added two. Defensively, Wynn led the Cru with nine rebounds followed by Alicia Blackwell with eight. UMHB out-rebounded Hardin-Simmons 47-39, bringing down 14 offensive boards and 33 defensively. Kendra Wynn led UMHB with five steals as the team totaled 10, forcing the Cowgirls into 21 turnovers in the contest.

Kayla Brown led the Cowgirls with 10 points followed by Logan Redding and Deontae Ingram with nine each. Brown also brought down a team-high 12 rebounds. Hardin-Simmons totaled 10 assists, two blocks and nine steals in the contest. The Cowgirls shot 33.3 percent in the game, 23.1 percent from beyond the arc and just 43.5 percent from the free throw line. UMHB ended the contest with a 29 percent shooting mark, going 20 percent from beyond the arc and 76.2 percent in free throws.

The Cru returns to action on Saturday, January 28th in a 1 p.m. match against McMurry University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.