HOUSTON – HCU women's basketball extended their win streak to two with a win over cross-town foe St. Thomas 68-43 in Sharp Gym Saturday afternoon. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
HCU (5-4) led this game wire-to-wire before eventually picking up the win.
Enya Maguire got the Huskies on the board first with a three ball right out of the gate. Her hot streak from distance continues this year, knocking them down at a 46 percent clip.
Following the Maguire three, the Huskies went on a 15-6 run and jumped out to an early lead. HCU's leading scorer
Julija Vujakovic found herself back in action after a two game absence and accounted for two three-pointers during that run.
Freshman
Erin Maguire checked into the game with 3:30 left if the quarter before quickly grabbing a steal and going coast-to-coast for a layup, the first bucket of her collegiate career. She did not stop there as she made a layup with time expiring in the first quarter to give HCU a 23-8 lead heading into the second.
St. Thomas (1-9, 0-2 SCAC) held their own on both ends of the floor in the second quarter, holding the Huskies to just 13 points on 33 percent shooting. The Huskies held a 15 points lead, 34-19, heading into the half.
HCU pushed their lead to 22 midway through the third and held UST to just two made buckets through the first eight minutes of the second half. Their lead combined with suffocating defense was too much for the Celts to overcome as the Huskies won 68-43.
Vujakovic led all Huskies with 18 points in her return to action.
N'Denasija Collins had 11 points and six rebounds while the Maguire sisters each had 10 points.
Jo Oly added seven points, six boards, two steals, and two assists in her second consecutive start.
Marilyn Nzoiwu finished with team highs in rebounds with nine, assists with four, and steals with four.
HCU will not play again until the 20th when they travel to San Marcos to take on Texas State before heading to Austin and facing the Longhorns the very next day.
