BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor women's basketball team handed Sul Ross State University a 77-68 loss Thursday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 15-7 on the season and 8-5 in American Southwest Conference action while the Lobos fell to 9-14 overall and 6-8 in league play.
 
UMHB opened the game with a 15-0 run, holding Sul Ross State scoreless in the first nine minutes of play. The Lobos missed their first 10 shots of the game, shooting 7.7 percent in the first quarter with a 31.6 shooting performance from the Cru.  UMHB led 17-2 after the first quarter but was held scoreless through the first two minutes of the second. Sul Ross State cut UMHB's lead to single digits in the second quarter before Kendall Rollins hit a pair of free throws to put the Cru back up by 10. The Lobos responded, outscoring the Cru 11-4 in the final minutes of the quarter to give cut UMHB's lead to just three points at the half.
 
Sul Ross State opened the second half of play with a three-point field goal from Katy Boren to tie the contest at 28. UMHB then used a 14-4 run to grab another a double-digit lead. The Lobos cut the advantage to just three points with 3:33 left in the third quarter before the Cru used a 13-3 run in the final minutes to end the third quarter with a 57-44 lead. UMHB held onto the lead through the fourth quarter to secure the 77-68 win.
 
Jonelle Smith led UMHB with 17 points followed by Rollins with 15 and Haven Neal with 11. UMHB shot 38.8 percent in the contest with a team-high four assists from Kendra Wynn. Neal and Rollins both brought down a team-high 10 rebounds as the Cru out-rebounded the Lobos 54-38 in the contest. Defensively, Wynn led the Cru with three steals as UMHB forced Sul Ross State into 24 team turnovers.
 
Boren led the Lobos with 17 points followed by Lindsey Hearn with 15 and Ashley Ousley with 10. The Lobos shot 36.9 percent in the contest and went 12-36 from beyond the arc. Kenya Miles led all Sul Ross State players with eight rebounds while Hearn had a team-high four steals. The Lobos forced UMHB into 22 turnovers and limited the Cru to just one three-point basket.  

UMHB returns to action on Saturday, February 11^th in the final home game of the 2016-2017 season. The Cru will host Howard Payne University in a 1 p.m. match at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton and honor the senior class at the contest.