Photo GalleryHOUSTON – Behind junior guard
Rachel Arthur's career-high 25 points, the HBU women's basketball team held on to defeat visiting Sam Houston State, 66-61, in a key Southland Conference showdown Saturday afternoon from Sharp Gym.
Arthur shot 12-of-19 from the floor and made her only three-point attempt to lead HBU (10-14 overall, 4-9 SLC). She also dished out three assists and forced three steals while playing all 40 minutes.
Erin McGarrachan scored 15 points, while
Tayler Jefferson followed with 11. HBU shot 41 percent from the floor in the game.
The SLC's leading scorer, Shernise Robertson, led SHSU (6-17 overall, 5-8 SLC) with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting, 1-of-8 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Jasmine Robinson came off the bench to score 11 points. The Bearkats shot 37 percent from the floor in the contest.
HBU started the game on fire, outscoring SHSU 14-2 in the first 6:20. The Bearkats trimmed the deficit to seven, but a 16-7 run gave the Huskies their largest lead of the game at 16, 32-16, following a steal by Jefferson and a McGarrachan jumper at the 6:29-mark of the opening half.
SHSU ended the first half outscoring the Huskies, 19-5, to trail HBU at the break, 37-35. Arthur led the Huskies with 12 first-half points, while Robertson had 15 for the Bearkats. Both teams shot 41 percent from the floor in the half.
HBU continued to hold on to a slim, two-point lead two-and-a-half minutes into the second half before going on a 13-8 run to take a seven-point advantage, 52-45, following a layup by Arthur.
Back-to-back buckets by Robertson and Wiley cut the HBU deficit to three with eight minutes to go in regulation. The Bearkats had the ball again, looking to possibly tie, but McGarrachan forced a turnover and made a jumper to bring the Huskies back up to five, 54-49, with 7:10 remaining.
SHSU used a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 55-54, following a layup by Alexandra Kimble at the 4:11-mark. The Huskies responded at the other end with a three-pointer by Jefferson, but the two teams entered their first tie of the ballgame following a jumper by Robertson at the 3:35-mark.
The teams would have two more ties in the next two minutes before a jumper by McGarrachan put the Huskies up for good, 63-61, with 35 seconds remaining. On the next Bearkats' possession,
Anna Strickland forced a steal and made the ensuing free throw, giving HBU a three-point lead. She then blocked Robertson's three-point attempt, Jefferson was intentionally fouled, and made both free throws to make it a two-possession game with three seconds to go, icing the contest.
HBU hosts Incarnate Word Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 pm.
