HOUSTON – HCU led by just five at the half but out-scored visiting Howard Payne, 45-22, in the second half for a 79-51 non-conference win inside Sharp Gym on Monday evening.
The Huskies (3-4) scored the game's first four points and built a 16-7 lead after
Kennedy Wilson made a pair of free throws and a pull-up jumper with 1:24 to go in the first quarter. Howard Payne (4-2) guard Jazlyn Braithwaite converted an and-one on the next possession for three points before
N'Denasija Collins ended the scoring in the quarter with a layup and an 18-10 HCU lead.
The Lady Jackets opened the second quarter with six-straight points to make it a two-point game, 18-16. Freshman
Tove Caesar went on a personal 7-3 run to push the HCU lead back to six, 25-19, over a two-minute, 15-second span. Over the final 6:07 of the half, the two teams traded scoring until the buzzer and the Huskies went into the locker room with a 34-29 lead.
Less than a minute into the third quarter, the Huskies led just 36-32 but a 12-6 run left HCU ahead by 10, 48-38, with 4:57 in the period. The Huskies then clamped down defensively, holding HPU scoreless the rest of the quarter while scoring 12 more points for a 60-38 lead. HCU shot 8-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the foul line in the third and held the Lady Jackets to just 2-of-13 shooting.
HCU got a three from Wilson and a layup off a turnover from Collins to begin the fourth quarter to make it a 29-6 run in a stretch of just over seven minutes of game time. The Huskies pushed their lead as high as 29 the rest of the way.
Collins led all players with a season-high 22 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor, while also pulling down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with five steals and four assists. Wilson, meanwhile, poured in 17 points with five assists and five rebounds. She was 5-of-6 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Caesar ended the night with 10 points, as did
Jo Oly, with Oly adding a pair of blocked shots.
The Huskies won the turnover battle with just eight miscues while forcing HPU into 19. The Lady Jackets held a slim advantage on the boards, 35-34, with 11 of their rebounds coming on the offensive end.
The Huskies open a three-game road swing this coming Friday, Dec. 1, with a trip to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech at 6:00 p.m.
