MARSHALL, Texas – For the first time in the NCAA DIII era, the East Texas Baptist University women's basketball team started the season 7-0 with a 71-57 victory over Schreiner University. This also marks the second game in a row where ETBU has scored more than 70 points.

Amanda Wilson was ETBU's top scorer with 13 points on six-of-six shooting from the field while blocking five shots in the game. Kim Childress had 12 points while Dree Roberson also reached the double-digit mark with 10 points. Erin Meeks had seven rebounds to lead ETBU while Madison McCoy dished out five assists to lead the team. SU had two players with 12 points each in Alina Hilliard, who led with three steals, and Kendall Dyal, who also had a team-high five assists. Kayla Alvarado had 10 points while Danielle Cain finished with 11 points.

For the game, ETBU made 46.0% from the field, which was better than the 32.2% shot by SU. Though the Mountaineers did win the three-point battle with 38.9% made, both teams did make 66.7% from the free throw line. Fortunately, ETBU outscored SU 56-20 in the paint, 38-11 in bench points, and won the steals battle 19-8.

A scoreless minute from the start of the game ended on a free throw by Bailey Lindsey (8:44) to lead 1-0. But SU took got the first two field goals for four points to lead 4-1 at 7:30. For a while, ETBU could not get anything going offensively until Roberson converted two free throws at 5:37 to cut the lead to 4-3. Then Mallory Stephens got ETBU going as she led an 11-5 run with nine points that included two three-point plays (5:20, 3:21) and a three pointer at 2:21 to give ETBU a 14-9 lead. SU would answer with a 5-2 run to trail 16-14 with thirty-six seconds left only for Childress to make a layup with fourteen seconds left. ETBU led 18-14 after one quarter.

Childress and Meeks started the first 2:46 in second quarter combining for eight points while Lindsey added a steal and a fast break layup at 7:01 to give ETBU a 28-20 lead following a 10-6 run. It would be pushed to nine following a layup by Wilson (6:35) as ETBU led 30-21. Four straight points by Cain (6:30, 5:11) cut the margin to 30-25 only to see Wilson (4:57) and Brittney Jones (4:16) answer with four straight points and a 34-25 ETBU lead. The Tigers then reached an eleven-point lead at 38-27 with Wilson's layup at 2:07. But SU would make it 38-29 on free throws by Kendra Brown (0:41) going into halftime.

After Meeks started the third quarter with a layup (8:14) to make it 40-29, SU would suddenly have a 10-2 run (7:14-4:49) to cut the lead to 42-39, the closest they would get to in the second half. But the turning point came when Sydney Saxton (3:10) scored on a layup, which was followed by a steal by Stephens, and a put back layup by Roberson (2:58) to push the lead to 46-37.  ETBU's lead was extended to ten at 50-40 with fifty-one seconds left. Yet, SU made it 50-43 in ETBU's favor after three on a three-point play by Dyal with nine seconds to go.

SU did cut the lead to 50-46 on a three by Hilliard just twenty-eight seconds into the fourth quarter. They could not get any closer as ETBU answered with a 9-2 run (9:12-5:58) keyed by seven points between Childress and Meeks to lead 59-48. A layup by McCoy at 5:26 gave ETBU a double-digit lead (61-51) that they would not relinquish. SU did get the deficit to 68-57 on a three by Cain (0:55). But ETBU reached the seventy-point plateau on free throws by McCoy (0:35) and Roberson (0:10) to pick up the 71-57 win.

ETBU will now take on Whitworth tomorrow at 3:00 PM at Ornelas Gymnasium.