HOUSTON – The HBU women's basketball team used tremendous second quarter defense to propel themselves past the Texas Wesleyan Rams Tuesday night in Sharp Gym.   
 
Career nights from Enya Maguire and N'Denasija Collins helped push the Huskies past the Rams, 69-43. Maguire opened the game with a quick three ball before Naomi Pierce would hit a three of her own to open the Husky lead up 6-4. The Huskies would have a cold stretch on offense over the next four minutes as the Rams (3-1, 0-0 SAC) went on an 8-1 run to take their biggest lead on the night, 12-7. A bucket from Timia Jefferson and a three pointer from Kennedy Wilson would bring the contest back to even, 12-12 before the Rams made three free-throws to close out the quarter.
 
The Huskies offensive explosion mixed with phenomenal defense in the second quarter, proved to be too much for Texas Wesleyan. The Huskies held the Rams to a .143 shooting percentage (2-14 FG) while they shot .467 (7-15 FG) on the opposite end. Maguire scored six of her career high 13 points in the second quarter, while Collins grabbed five of her career high 14 boards in the quarter while adding five points. The Huskies only allowed five points in the second quarter and took a 35-20 lead into halftime.
 
The Huskies did not lose their shooting stroke during the break, as they came out and shot .474 percent (9-19 FG) in the third quarter. The Rams opened the quarter on a 6-2 run to start the quarter. A Maguire jump shot with 7:53 remaining in the quarter would spark a 15-4 run by the Huskies, including five points from Jefferson and three points from both Abbey Sutherland and Julija Vujakovic. The Huskies would finish the third quarter leading 59-33.
 
The Huskies lead was too much to overcome for the Rams, who were only able to score 10 points in the fourth quarter. The Huskies defense would refuse to back down, holding the Rams to a .167 shooting percentage (3-18 FG) in the quarter.
 
For the contest, Jefferson led the Huskies in scoring with 14 points, shooting .625 from the field and .500 from three point distance. Maguire had a career night, shooting .545 from the floor for 13 points, three assists, and three steals and Collins had a career high 14 rebounds. Lauryn Mapusua added nine points and Wilson added eight points while Vujakovic added six. Naomi Pierce had a nice night cleaning up the boards, with seven rebounds while adding five points and two blocks of her own. Amy Cotton and Elizabeth Matadi each added two points. The Huskies had a better shooting percentage from the field and from three than the Rams (.400 to .230 FG%, .412 to .182 3P%), out rebounded them 48-39, out assisted them 8-6, out blocked them 7-0, and scored more bench points than them, 33-24. 
 
The Huskies return to action Thursday night when they host Hartford in Sharp Gym at 7:00 PM.