Box Score

Post-Game Interview with Mary Gleason (video)

HOUSTON – After a poor-shooting first half, Houston Baptist battled back and took the lead with seven minutes left in regulation, but Jackson State came back and held on to a 65-57 victory over the Huskies in the nightcap of the Husky Classic Friday night at Sharp Gym.

Shanice Steeholdt led all scorers with 18 points and 16 rebounds for HBU (2-4), recording her fifth double-double of the season. Erin McGarrachan tied a career high with 12 points, while Tayler Jefferson added 11, with three assists and one steal.

Tiffany Kellum led Jackson State (1-3) with 16 points, going 8-for-15 from the floor. Dominique Brothern scored 11 points and Demara Howard led the Lady Tigers with 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end.

Jackson State came out firing to start the game, scoring the game's first 10 points. The Huskies cut the deficit to six with a jumper by McGarrachan and a layup by Steenholdt, but the Lady Tigers increased their lead to 10, 14-4,  with 12:28 left in the opening half.

HBU used an 8-3 run to trail by five, 17-12, with 8:04 remaining, following a pair of Ashleigh Nwanguma free throws. But that was all the closest the Huskies came in the rest of the half, as JSU led by as many as 13 (29-16) before HBU battled back and trailed by nine at the break, 29-20, following four-straight points by McGarrachan.

McGarrachan led HBU in the first half with 10 points, while Steenholdt was the leader with seven rebounds. HBU shot just 21 percent (6-of-28) from the floor in the first half. Kellum led JSU with 10 points.

In a complete reversal from the start of the first half, HBU opened the second half on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 29-all with 16:22 remaining in the second half. Steenholdt had two steals that resulted in points for the Huskies during that run.

Beatrice Banks hit a three on the ensuing JSU possession to give the Lady Tigers a three-point lead at 32-29, but HBU used a 5-0 run to lead JSU 34-32 with 13:21 remaining.

The two teams battled back and forth, with neither team leading by more than three points. After a pair of Ayanna Hardy-Fuller free throws tied the game for the fourth time, at 43-all with 8:17 remaining, HBU took its largest lead of the game after three-pointers by Jefferson and Maisie Elston on consecutive possessions put HBU ahead 49-44, forcing JSU to call a timeout.

Following the timeout, JSU answered with a three-pointer by Brothern, but Elston answered on the ensuing possession to give HBU its five-point lead again, 52-47 with 5:50 remaining.

Unfortunately, that was the last time HBU would lead, as JSU closed out the game on a 16-5 run to get the victory.

HBU will conclude the Husky Classic against UC Davis Saturday at 1pm. UC Davis won a thriller in the opener, defeating Navy 66-63 in overtime.