SAN ANTONIO – For the second-straight game, HBU women's basketball had a strong second half, as the Huskies outscored Nebraska Omaha, 38-18, in the final two quarters en route to a 64-51 victory over the Mavericks Friday afternoon on the opening day of the UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament.
Anna Strickland led HBU (2-2) with 16 points, 18 rebounds (a new season high for the Southland Conference), five assists, and four steals. The latter two categories were one shy of tying career highs. She was one of three Huskies in double figures, as
Rachel Arthur dropped 15 points and
Monet Neal had 13. As a team, the Huskies shot 41 percent from the floor.
Omaha's (3-2) leading scorer, Mikaela Shaw, paced the Mavericks with 19 points, 10 boards, and five assists. Remy Davenport chipped in with nine points. The Mavericks shot 38 percent from the floor.
HBU scored the game's first basket, but Omaha scored six unanswered to take a 6-2 lead. The Mavericks led the Huskies, 12-8, following the first quarter.
Lisa Zderadicka forced a steal and went in for a fast-break layup to cut the deficit to four for the quarter's final points.
HBU took a timeout less than a minute into the second quarter following back-to-back jumpers by UNO. The Huskies responded, eventually trimming the eight-point deficit to two, as
Bria Johnson forced a steal and Arthur went in for the layup to make the score, 18-16, with 6:30 left in the first half.
The Huskies came within one following a Neal layup, but the Mavericks used a 7-2 run for a more comfortable seven-point advantage with 2:32 remaining in the half.
Strickland and Neal each had six points to lead HBU, as the Huskies shot 43 percent in the first half. Shaw had 10 points and all five of her assists in the opening half, as the Mavericks shot 48 percent.
HBU came out of the locker room firing, opening the third quarter with a 14-4 run. The Mavericks called a timeout as Neal's layup gave HBU its first lead since 2-0, but the Huskies forced a turnover following the timeout and Neal gave HBU a three-point lead, 40-37, with 5:38 left in the quarter.
The teams went back and forth the remainder of the quarter and UNO even regained the lead following a Vanessa Barrajas jumper, but the Huskies answered right back. Zderadicka hit a huge three-pointer at the buzzer to give HBU a four-point advantage, 48-44, entering the fourth quarter.
The Huskies dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Mavericks, 16-7, and forcing five turnovers.
Meghan Shank and
Heidi Sihvola each contributed in the quarter. Strickland posted a double-double in the second half, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She also had four assists and four steals.
HBU faces UTSA Sunday at 2 p.m. to close the tournament. The Huskies' next game will be a home contest against Trinity on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
