ABILENE, TEXAS – A nine-win turnaround … a .500 season record of 12-12.

As head coach Drew Long pointed out, the 2022-23 season will be a cornerstone to continue building the McMurry University women's basketball program.

"To end the year this way is huge," he stated after the War Hawks rallied past Concordia University of Austin 74-70 in front of a happy crowd at Kimbrell Arena. "Obviously, we would have liked to have some other results back to move on to the conference tournament, but this bunch fought and scrapped today.

What we accomplished this year is all due to the energy and effort of the scholar-athletes on our team," he added. "They bought into what we wanted to do from the beginning and banded together."

A 15-5 run to begin the fourth quarter turned the game to the Maroon, Black, and White for good. CU took one last charge at their hosts, lowering the deficit to two. However, a lay-up to tie it rimmed out and was followed by a pair of made free throws from senior forward/center Destiny Mathews (Palestine, Texas) to ice the 74-70 triumph.

Large-scale electricity for the War Hawks came from senior guard Jada Morris. The Forney, Texas, native registered 16 points, missed a double-double by one board, dished out four assists, and blocked a visiting shot attempt. Mathews wasn't far off her pace, either, with 10 points and eight rebounds. The underclasswoman guard tandem of Kylie Flippin (Wichita Falls, Texas) and Helana Chadwick (La Vernia, Texas) pieced together four three-pointers between them to tally 12 and 11 points, respectively.

McMurry's 2022-23 season finished off at 12-12 overall and 6-12 in league play. It marks the first .500-or-better finish for the program since 2017-18.