MARSHALL, Texas – Despite a slow start, the East Texas Baptist University women's basketball team didn't panic as they were able to bounce back in the first quarter and roll away with the 80-63 victory over Louisiana College. ETBU still remains in first place with a 14-2 record overall and 8-1 in the ASC East Division.

Kim Childress nearly had a double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds. Madison McCoy finished with 11 points and a game-high seven assists while Katy Boren had 15 points on five three-pointers. All five on LC's starters reached double-figures as Brooke Jones (14 points), Kourtney McGhee (13 points), Zharian Maxmillion (12 points), RyDeja McQuarn (11 points), and Taylor Payne (10 points) did most of the scoring.

ETBU barley outshot LC 45%-44.4% from the field. But they had the clear advantage in three-point shooting (37.5%-30.0%) and free-throw shooting (77.3%-60.0%). ETBU also outrebounded LC 34-30 and dished out 22 assists to LC's 13. In addition, ETBU's bench outscored LC's bench 23-3 and stole the ball 15 times while LC had two.

This was a performance that ETBU head women's basketball Rusty Rainbolt coach could not have foreseen from his team. "It was a good night," said Coach Rainbolt. "Honestly, I was completely surprised and amazed at how our girls played tonight. Louisiana College is a tough team and they're a very tough matchup for us. There was a major concern with how we were going to rebound the ball and how we were going to defend the post. We had two girls that played in the post tonight. Our starting five and the other girls that came off the bench were phenomenal. All in all, it was a great effort by our team. These girls are phenomenal with just our poise."

After Childress started the game with a layup (9:40), LC would go on a 10-2 run (9:10-6:30) to lead 10-4. But ETBU would answer with a 11-2 run (6:30-4:09) to push ahead 15-12. Aside from free throws by Childress (5:18, 4:46) and Mallory Stephens (4:09), ETBU got a layup from Dree Roberson (6:30) and a three-pointer by Boren (6:18). The rest of the quarter saw LC cut the lead to one a couple of times only for ETBU to push ahead as a jumper by Brittney Jones (2:17) and a second Boren three (0:06) made the score 20-16 after one quarter.

ETBU started off the second quarter with layups by Stephens (9:38) and Childress (8:25, 8:04) to push ahead 26-16. But LC answered with six straight points to trail 26-22 (5:04). Again, ETBU got the tempo going in their direction as a 7-2 run (4:11-2:55) keyed by free throws from Sydney Saxton, which made it 33-24. ETBU would reach their first double-digit lead on a three by Boren (1:17). In the final minute, LC twice cut the lead to single digits (1:05, 0:13) only to have ETBU answer with a three by McCoy (0:47) and the fifteenth point by Childress (0:02). ETBU would take a 41-31 lead going into halftime.

Momentum would shift at the start of the third with LC putting together a 13-5 run (10:00-6:13) just to trail by two at 46-44. But two three's by Karley McHenry (4:51-4:28) plus a layup by Jones (3:45) made it 54-45. LC would cut the lead to as close as six points (54-48) following a three (3:34). The Tigers would then finish the quarter on an 8-2 run featuring baskets by Roberson (3:13), Amanda Wilson (1:00) and a fourth three by Boren (0:30) to lead 62-50 after three quarters.

LC once again started the fourth quarter with a run as they would start with an 8-4 run (10:00-7:08) to trail as close as 64-58. But ETBU would secure control of the game from that point on at they would end with a 16-5 run. It started with a McCoy layup (6:59) that would be followed by a Childress two-pointer plus a free throw (5:25) that gave ETBU the double-digit lead they would never give up. McCoy (4:54) and McHenry (4:01) would tack on more points before Childress secured her twenty-second point at the 2:28 mark and a 75-60 lead. In the end, ETBU would make five three throws that propelled them to eighty points for only the third time this season.

ETBU will hit the road to Jackson, Mississippi to play Belhaven this Saturday at 2:00.