HOUSTON – HBU blitzed Incarnate Word with 21-straight second-half points to cruise to a 68-51 victory over the Cardinals in Southland Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
Sophomore guard
Lisa Zderadicka posted her first career double-double with 13 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and four assists for the Huskies (4-12, 2-4 SLC). Senior guard
Heidi Byrd hit three 3-pointers and matched Zderadicka with 13 points and dished out five assists, while freshman forward
Taylor Kollmorgen came off the bench to deliver 11 points and seven boards. Freshman guard
Shannon Jones chipped in with eight points, while sophomore center
Veronika Kirienko and freshman guard
Sophie Taylor each had seven points, with Taylor snatching a career-high seven rebounds.
Celia Garcia Paunero led the Cardinals (4-13, 2-4) with 18 points, hitting 8-of-18 from the floor, but only 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Cheyenne Berry scored 14 points and handed out four assists and Cassandra Ramirez scored eight points. Tanjunique Ajeto led UIW with seven rebounds.
HBU shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent (6-for-16) from long distance, and went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line. UIW shot 33.9 percent from the floor, 20.8 percent (5-for-24) from deep, and only 4-of-6 from the line. The Huskies held a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Cardinals, 51-33, which included 19 on the offensive glass.
The Huskies got off to a slow start, making only 2-of-15 shots in the opening period, while Berry scored seven points in the frame to give the Cardinals a 14-5 lead. UIW took its largest lead of the game as it led by nine on jumper by Garcia Paunero with 8:54 to go in the second. HBU sliced its deficit to two on a trey by Byrd with 4:13 left, but Ramirez answered with a three on the other end. Taylor followed with a triple, then Berry came back with a layup. After a Zderadicka layup once again made it a two-point game, UIW got back-to-back buckets by Garcia Paunero and Ramirez. Zderadicka rebounded her own miss and put a short jumper back in just before the buzzer as the Cardinals took a 27-23 lead into halftime.
A 3-pointer by Haley Frias staked UIW to a seven-point advantage early in the third, but Kirienko buried a three for HBU. Garcia Pauero hit a deep three to put the Cardinals ahead 40-34 with 3:55 remaining in the period, but that would be their final points in the third as the Huskies scored the last 17 points to take a 51-40 lead. Kollmorgen started the spurt with a pair of short baskets, Zderadicka nailed a three and hit a jumper, then Byrd made back-to-back threes. Jones drove in for a layup just ahead of the horn for the final bucket in the period.
Kollmorgen opened the fourth with a pair of baskets, both assisted by Byrd, then Garcia Pauero finally ended the Huskies' run with a layup to cut HBU lead to 55-42 with 8:03 left in the game. A jumper by Berry and a three by Ramirez got the Cardinals within 11 midway through the final period, but they would get not closer as the Huskies outscored them 10-4 down the stretch.
The Huskies wrap up their three-game homestand against New Orleans Thursday at 7 p.m.
