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HOUSTON – Behind senior forwards Anna Strickland and Monet Neal's 20-point games, HBU women's basketball shot 51 percent from the floor and went on to defeat visiting Incarnate Word, 64-46, on Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym. With the win, HBU clinched the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament.

Neal and Strickland went on an offensive clinic for the Huskies (14-14 overall, 9-9 SLC), shooting a combined 64.5 from the floor. Strickland finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, five assists, two blocks, and three steals. She pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds and it was her second-straight game of 20-plus boards. Neal finished with a team-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting with six rebounds, two blocks, and a pair of steals. Rachel Arthur scored seven points and moved into eighth place on HBU's career scoring, with 1,206.

Aricka Adams paced UIW (6-23, 3-15) with a game-high 23 points, as she shot 10-of-19 from the floor. Both Quincy Baker and Celia Garcia-Paunera pulled down a team-best five rebounds. As a team, the Cardinals shot 38 percent from the floor.

HBU scored the game's first nine points – culminated by a three-point play by Strickland – before UIW got on the board at the 4:25-mark on a Brianna Williams jumper. The teams exchanged baskets the remainder of the first quarter with HBU holding a seven-point lead, 13-6, after the first frame.

After Lisa Zderadicka's layup four seconds into the second quarter gave HBU a nine-point lead, UIW used a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to two, 17-15, following a steal and layup by Adams at the 4:18-mark. The Huskies settled down and closed the half on a 15-1 run, highlighted by an Amanda Johnson trey with 36 seconds left, to lead the Cardinals 32-16 at the break.

Neal scored nearly half of the team's 32 first-half points, finishing with 13. Strickland had nine points and 12 rebounds.

HBU led by as many as 19 early in the third quarter before the Cardinals cut the deficit to 13 following consecutive baskets by Melina Merritt and Yvonne Maosa. HBU increased their lead back up to 18, culminated by a steal and jumper by Neal, but the Cardinals closed the quarter outscoring HBU, 6-0, to cut the deficit 12, 43-31, entering the final quarter.

The Huskies used a 7-0 run to turn a 12-point lead to 19, thanks to a three-pointer by Heidi Sihvola and four points from Strickland. The Cardinals battled and cut the deficit to 11 with 3:34 remaining, but could get no further as HBU used a couple of important steals by Arthur and Zderadicka on the defensive end.

With the win, HBU has clinched the No. 5 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament and will play No. 8 Lamar at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 10 from the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. All games, except the championship game, will be streamed live on ESPN3. The championship game will be on CBS Sports Network.