HOUSTON – Redshirt freshman forward
Charlotte Hodges provided the spark off the bench HBU needed during a sluggish first half and the Huskies pulled away from Arlington Baptist for a 75-55 victory in non-conference women's basketball Friday night at Sharp Gym.
Hodges scored 10 of her career-high 14 points in the second period to lead five Huskies (2-6) in double figures, while adding six rebounds. Senior guard
Heidi Byrd made all three of her 3-point attempts to finish with 12 points and five rebounds and sophomore guard
Amanda Johnson added 11 points and six boards. Freshman forward
Taylor Kollmorgen posted her second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman forward
Lauren Calver had 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. Freshman guard
Shannon Jones chipped in with a career-high nine points.
Kayla Beattie made 7-of-15 field goals, 3-of-7 from behind the arc to lead the Patriots (7-6) with 17 points. Zayda Gonzales had 14 points and four rebounds and Jayzhia Softly had 13 points and four rebounds. Tia Johnson led ABC with seven rebounds.
HBU shot 42.6 percent from the field, 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from 3-point range, and went 12-for-18 from the free-throw line. ABC shot 33.9 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent (6-for-18) from behind the arc, and 9-for-12 from the line. The Huskies outrebounded the Patriots, 45-35, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds leading to a 24-10 edge on second-chance points. HBU was plus-eight in the turnover category, 28-20, outscoring ABC, 30-18, in points off turnovers. The Huskies controlled the paint by a 44-28 margin.
The Huskies scored the first seven points of the game, before Beattie hit a three from the corner and layup and a free throw by Gonzales pulled the Patriots within one. Daub nailed a three, then Byrd hit a short pull-up jumper as HBU took a 12-8 lead after one.
HBU led 17-14, until a three-point play by Jones and a pair of free throws and a layup by Hodges extended the Huskies' lead to 10. The Patriots scored the next seven on layup by Beattie, a three by Gonzales and a Jackson layup to get back within three, but back-to-back layups by Hodges put HBU up 30-23. Another layup by Gonzales with 27 seconds remaining cut the Huskies' lead to five at the half.
Beattie made a three to make it a two-point game midway through the third, but Kollmorgen sank a pair of buckets, Zderadicka threw in a jump hook off the glass and Calver scored four-straight during a 10-2 run to make the core 48-38 with 3:06 left. After ABC closed to the gap to seven, Byrd buried a three, then made a steal and Taylor found Calver for a layup at the buzzer to put HBU ahead, 55-43, heading into the final frame.
The Huskies opened the fourth with a 16-3 spurt, keyed by a pair of triples by Byrd, to stretch their lead to 71-46, a 25-point margain that would be their largest of the game. The Patriots did not go away quietly, putting together a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to 16. Layups by Kollmorgen and Jones provided the final 20-point margin.
The Huskies will have 12 days off, before returning to finish off this three-game homestand against ULM Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
