MARSHALL, Texas – Playing in an intense game from start to finish, the East Texas Baptist University women's basketball team used a strong second half to stun the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders with a 66-56 victory. UMHB is picked to win the American Southwest Conference West Division. At 5-0, this is the best start to the program in over fifteen years. 
 
Leading the way for ETBU was Kim Childress with 14 points and nine rebounds going a perfect eight-of-eight from the free throw line. Mallory Stephens and Erin Meeks each had eight points. Sydney Saxton posted six rebounds and was tied along with Madison McCoy, Katy Boren, and Childress with two assists each. McCoy, Baylie Lindsey, and Karley McHenry each collected two steals in the game.
 
ETBU's defense would hold UMHB to under sixty points for the first time this season as the Crusaders only had one player in Meghan Turner score 10 points. ETBU's defense also held two of the top four scorers in the ASC, Hannah Holt (20.4 ppg), and Kendall Rollins (16.4 ppg) to eight and nine points respectively. Alicia Blackwell led the Crusaders with 10 rebounds.
 
ETBU outshot UMHB in two of the three shooting categories, which included field goal percentage (38.3%-29.0%) and free throw percentage (71.4%-55.6%). Half of ETBU's points came off the bench while thirty of them came in the paint. UMHB had a better game from downtown making 26.1% of their threes while the Tigers made 25%. UMHB also outrebounded ETBU 46-42.
 
Both teams scored their first basket of the game in the first minute before UMHB went on a 9-0 run from 8:56 to 5:56 to lead 11-2. ETBU answered back with a 9-2 run to trail 13-11 at 3:01. This included a jumper by Brittney Jones (5:34), layups by Dree Roberson (3:53) and Mallory Stephens (3:36) along with a three-point play by Saxton (3:01). In the next two-and-a-half minutes, the Crusaders did push the lead to as much as 22-15 with twenty-eight seconds left in the first quarter. But McCoy (:07) would cut the lead to 22-18 with a three at the end of the first quarter.
 
ETBU started the second quarter with seven straight points from Childress (9:48), Erin Meeks (9:10), and Katy Boren (8:23) to lead 25-22. After a three by UMHB's Kelsey Van Pelt (7:47) tied the game, ETBU saw Meeks (6:51) and Stephens (6:15) push their lead to four points at 29-25. But after the Crusaders answered with five straight points to lead by one (30-29) at 4:33, ETBU's Jones (4:16) traded a basket with Kendall Rollins (2:41) as UMHB led 32-31. The rest of the quarter saw ETBU tack on three points to lead 34-32 at halftime as Childress (1:21) made a layup while McHenry (:07) made a free throw.
 
The two teams would exchange points for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter until Turner (6:30) delivered a three to give UMHB a 40-38 lead. It would soon escalate to 44-38 lead when Aubrie Elliott (5:02) and Turner (4:05) made layups. But Jones connected on a free throw (3:47) and McHenry made back-to-back three's to give the Tigers a 45-44 lead with 2:12 to play. Turner gave UMHB their final lead of the quarter with her final points at 1:56. But Saxton made four free throws in a minute (1:27-0:27) to lead 49-46 before Rollins made a free throw with twenty-two seconds left as ETBU lead 49-47 after three.
 
The fourth quarter saw UMHB make a 5-2 run to lead 52-51 with 7:21 to play. It would be free throws by Childress that would give ETBU a lead they would never relinquish at 53-52 with 6:57 left to go. The Tigers then led 57-53 with baskets by Meeks (6:24) and Stephens (4:52) before UMHB's Holt cut the lead to 57-54 with a free throw at 3:56. Baskets by Stephens (3:40) and UMHB's Haven Neal (2:49) made it 59-56. From then on, ETBU finished with a 7-0 run as Amanda Wilson (2:22) pushed the lead to five before Katy Boren delivered the decisive blow with a three for an eight-point lead, 64-56, with 1:48 to go. Childress put in the last points on free throws at 1:12 before ETBU ran out the clock for the win.
 
ETBU will resume their season on December 11 when they travel to Alpine, Texas, to battle with Sul Ross State at 5:30 PM.