Video Highlights
HOUSTON – Junior guard
Amanda Johnson and sophomore guard
Sophie Taylor's double-figure performance push HBU women's basketball past Huston-Tillotson Sunday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
"I am so proud of our players tonight," Coach Donna Finne said. "They have faced so much adversity in the last two weeks and managed to tough it out tonight. I though Sophie stepped up on the offensive end to help Amanda, but Megan, as a freshman, did an incredible job handling the ball and I though she was fantastic defensively. We need to rest up during finals week and hopefully see more faces on our bench going into our next road trip."
The Huskies (4-4) were led by Johnson, who shot 45.0 percent from the field, racking up 24 points, which is the third game in a row she has scored more than 20 points. Taylor shot 53.3 percent from the floor, hitting 3-of-3 from behind the 3-point range and scoring for a career-high 23 points. Junior center
Natalia Gwarda shot for a career high 10 point and brought down six rebounds. Sophomore guard
Britta Daub and Johnson each brought down six rebounds, while freshman guard Megan-Valdez Crader led the Husky rebounding with career-high seven boards.
Four Lady Rams (2-5) scored in double-figures with Charmin Woods leading the way with 14 points and five rebounds. Korie Pichon put up 13 points, while Dezarai Spencer scored 12 point and had eight assists. Lolita Franklin contributed 11 points and five rebounds.
HBU shot 42.9 percent from the field, going 4-of-6 from the 3-point range and 18-of-24 from behind the line. Huston-Tillotson shot 41.2 percent from the floor, 10-of-30 from behind the arc and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. The Huskies outscored the Lady Rams in the paint, 44-30 and outrebounded the Lady Rams, 38-36.
The Huskies led early, after a 10-4 run in the first, including buckets from Gwarda, Taylor, and Johnson. Junior center
Veronika Kirienko chimed in with four straight points off the bench, but the Lady Rams answered back, scoring the next seven points decreasing the Huskies lead to only three. Gwarda would end the first adding three, 19-13. The Huskies started the second quarter with a 9-3 run increasing their advantage to 12 points. A 3-pointer by Taylor started a four point run for the Lady Rams, ending the half, 32-26.
The Lady Rams scored early in the third quarter with back-to-back buckets to cut the Huskies lead to only one point. Valdez-Crader drained a three to put the Huskies up by four, but a seven-point run would give Huston-Tillotson its first lead of the game, 38-35. A 3-point play by Johnson would even the score, but the Lady Rams answered from the 3-point line, starting an 8-4 run. Taylor put the Huskies within one point with a shot from behind the arc, but neither team was able to get more than a two point lead for the next five points, until back-to-back buckets by Taylor, including a 3-pointer took the Huskies into the fourth with a score of 56-51. HBU led for as many as six points in the fourth, but four 3-pointers would contribute to the Lady Rams tying up the score, 70-70 with 1:32 left to play. Back-to-Back points by Johnson a sophomore guard
Sydney Carr would give HBU a four-point advantage to put it away for the Huskies, 76-72.
The Huskies will begin a two-game Louisiana swing beginning with Louisiana Monroe on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. and ending with Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
