HOUSTON – A contested tip-in attempt at the buzzer led to a pair of free throws for visiting Southeastern that proved to be the difference in a 53-51 loss for the HCU women's basketball team on Thursday evening in Sharp Gym.
The two teams traded the first two buckets of the game before
Enya Maguire knocked down a three and
N'Denasija Collins followed with a layup for an early 7-2 HCU (11-7, 7-0 SLC) lead at the 4:01 mark. Hailey Giaratano and Jalencia Pierre answered for the Lady Lions (5-13, 0-7 SLC) to make it a one-point game, 7-6, a few minutes later. In the final minute of the first half,
Tove Caesar made a layup in transition off a SLU miss, drawing a foul and completing the three-point play to push the Huskies' lead to 10-6. Giaratano made the final basket of the quarter for a 10-8 HCU lead after the first 10.
Yasmin Butler knocked down a mid-range jumper to open scoring in the second to again push the HUC lead to four, 12-8, but the Lady Lions got on roll from there. SLU went on a 15-1 run over a stretch of more than seven minutes to take a 23-13 lead.
Jo Oly knocked down a jumper to get the Huskies back on track and
Enya Maguire hit her second three of the half within the final minute to cut the HCU deficit to just seven, 25-18, at halftime.
Another
Enya Maguire triple and a pair of free throws from Collins brought the Huskies to within five, 29-24, just over three minutes into the second half but SLU answered with the game's next seven to lead by 12 with 3:25 remaining in the quarter. Oly and
Kennedy Wilson hit back-to-back shots for HCU to again get it back to single-digits, 36-29, but the Lady Lions again answered with the next three to lead 39-29. Collins went 4-of-4 from the foul line over the final 1:12 of the half and brought it to 41-33 in SLU's favor heading into the final quarter.
Allasia Washington made a layup with 8:08 on the clock to make it a 45-35 game. After a Collins free throw on the next possession, Willson dropped in a driving layup and the ensuing free throw following a foul to cut it to six. After forcing a turnover,
Enya Maguire knocked down another three for a 45-42 ballgame with 6:31 to go. Cheyanne Daniels broke the HCU run with a layup but Maguire responded quickly, draining three-pointer number five of the night just 12 second later, getting the Huskies within two, 47-45, with under five minutes to play.
Following a Lady Lions turnover, Wilson got to the line with 2:34 on the clock and knocked down both to tie the game at 47-47. Giaratano put SLU back ahead on the next possession with a turn around jumper and then, after a missed three from Maguire, scored again on the next trip down the floor for a 51-47 lead. A pair of free throws by Collins made it a one-possession game at the 1:12 mark.
Neither team scored for over a minutes until Wilson drove through a pair of defenders and banked in a tough driving layup with just five ticks left on the clock. SLU got a shot from Giaratano that was off target but Washington drew a foul with 0.7 seconds left while attempting a tip-in. She made both for the 53-51 final.
Collins ended the night with a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. The senior went 3-of-9 from the floor but knocked down 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. Maguire added 15 points on 5-of-11 from three-point range while adding a season-high 4 assists. Wilson had 10 points while Butler finished with three blocked shots and three steals.
The Huskies forced the Lady Lions into 16 turnovers, the highest total of the season by SLU vs. a team not in the SEC. HCU shot 31.9 percent (15-of-47) from the floor, 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three and 75 percent (15-of-20) from the foul line. SLU held a 40-31 advantage on the boards.
HCU begins a stretch of three-consecutive road games this Saturday, Jan. 27, with a trip down I-10 to San Antonio, Texas to take on the UIW Cardinals inside the McDermott Center at 2:00 p.m.
