Box Score

Postgame Interview with Mary Gleason

Highlights

HOUSTON – Houston Baptist sophomore forward Shanice Steenholdt dominated inside as the Huskies survived 16 lead changes and 14 ties to tough out a 78-76 victory over Texas State in non-conference women's basketball Wednesday night at Sharp Gym.
 
Steenholdt posted her 15^th double-double on the year with a season-high 32 points and 13 rebounds, going 11-for-19 from the field, including a 3-pointer, 9-for-11 at the free-throw line for the Huskies (5-20). She added three assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals. It marks her 12^th 20-plus point game of the season and her 32 points are second only to her career-high 40-point, 22-rebound game against Huston-Tillotson on Jan. 10, 2012.
 
Sophomore guard Wiebke Bruns recorded career highs of 20 points and eight rebounds, while adding six assists. The outing marked first double-digit scoring game of her career, as she made 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Freshman forward Monet Neal also tallied a career-high 10 points, tied her career high with seven boards and made the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds left in overtime. Sophomore forward Erin McGarrachan chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
 
Diamond Ford led Texas State (9-16) with 22 points and six assists, shooting 8-of-21 from the field, including 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Ayriel Anderson hit four second-half 3-pointers to score 16 of her 18 points in the second half, going 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range for the game, and adding six rebounds. Ashley Ezeh had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Bobcats, while Erin Peoples led Texas State with 14 rebounds.
 
HBU shot 42 percent from the field for the game, and Texas State shot 40 percent. The Huskies went 2-for-12 from 3-point range, while the Bobcats made 10-of-22, but the Huskies held the edge from the free-throw line, going 20-for-24, compared to the Bobcats' 10-for-18. HBU outrebounded Texas State, 47-40.
 
The Huskies jumped out to an early 7-3 lead after a three-point play by McGarrachan, then Ford made a layup for the Bobcats. Bruns converted another three-point play to put HBU ahead 10-5, but Peoples answered with a three-pointer for Texas State. Neal completed the Huskies' third old-fashioned three-point play of the half, then Bruns made a putback to extend HBU's advantage to seven at the 12:00 mark.
 
Ezeh scored eight points during a 12-0 run that gave Texas State a 20-15 lead with 8:31 remaining, but McGarrachan ended the drought with a long jumper. After the Bobcats moved ahead by seven, the Huskies went on a 9-0 run as Weymouth knocked down a three, freshman guard Rachel Arthur buried a long jumper and Steenholdt made back-to-back baskets to reclaim the lead at 26-24 with 3:12 to go.
 
Texas State quickly took the lead back on a three by Ford and got a pair of free throws by Kaylan Martin to go up by three, but Steenholdt scored HBU's last seven points of the half to send the Huskies to the locker room with a 33-30 lead.
 
Steenholdt had 11 points for HBU, while Ezeh had eight points in the opening frame for Texas State. The Huskies shot 45 percent, while holding the Bobcats to 36 percent, but HBU made only 1-of-4 from 3-point range and Texas State hit 3-of-9. Each team went 4-for-6 at the free-throw line, and HBU held a slight 22-21 edge on the boards.
 
Ford opened the second half with a trey for Texas State to tie the game. Bruns made a layup on the other end, but a three by Anderson gave the Bobcats a one-point lead. The teams exchanged the lead a couple of times until Anderson hit back-to-back threes to put Texas State ahead, 44-39, with 15:19 remaining.
 
Steenholdt answered with a three-point play, but Anderson made her fourth three of the half and Ford made one-of-two from the line to put the Bobcats ahead by six. Bruns cut to the basket for a layup, then Steenholdt made another three-point play to cut Texas State's lead to 48-47 with 10:46 left.
 
HBU tied the game, 49-49, on a layup by Steenholdt with 9:09 on the clock, but Anderson came back with a layup on Texas State's ensuing possession. Steenholdt drilled a triple to put the Huskies up by one, but Baugus hit a short jumper off the glass to reclaim the lead for the Bobcats. McGarrachan answered with a jumper of her own off the window, then a layup by Steenholdt gave HBU a three-point advantage, but Ford tied it, 56-56, on a three with 5:35 to go.
 
The two teams traded baskets until Neal made a layup to put the Huskies ahead 62-60, then came up with a steal with 3:32 left. Neal hit the second of two free throws on the possession, but Ford hit another three to tie the game, 63-63, with just under three minutes on the clock. Neal buried a pair of free throws, but Ford drove in for a layup to keep the score tied at the two-minute mark. Bruns made a pair from the line, but the Bobcats answered with a layup by Jasmine Baugus to once again knot it up, 67-67, with 1:29 on the clock.
 
Texas State turned the ball over on an offensive foul with 46 seconds left in regulation, and Jefferson missed a runner, but HBU grabbed the offensive rebound with 16 seconds on the clock and called timeout. Steenholdt missed a short jumper with 11 seconds left, but the rebound went out of bounds to the Huskies. Bruns missed a jumper with seven seconds left, and the Bobcats got the rebound, but Baugus' 35-foot heave went off the glass and sent the game to the extra period.
 
Bruns took the tap in overtime and raced all the way to the rack for a layup, but Peoples hit two free throws to keep it even. Arthur hit a jumper off the glass, but Ford tied it back up with a layup. Steenholdt came back with a layup to give HBU a two-point lead at the halfway mark, but Ezeh tied it on a turnaround jumper on the block.
 
Jefferson sank a pair of free throws as the Huskies took a 75-73 lead with 1:46 left, then Peoples missed both of her free-throw attempts on the Bobcats' next possession. Texas State forced an HBU miss, and Ford was fouled with 36 seconds left, but made the first and missed the second as the Huskies led 75-74 and called timeout with 22 seconds on the clock.
 
Anderson stole the inbounds pass and took it in for a layup to give Texas State the lead for the first time in overtime, but Neal drove in for a layup to put HBU back on top, 77-76. Martin missed a jumper in the lane for the Bobcats with three seconds left, then Bruns capped the scoring and the two-point victory with a free throw with one second left.
 
The Huskies return to action and Great West Conference play when they host Texas-Pan American Saturday at 2 p.m.