HOUSTON – HCU trimmed an 11-point deficit down to just four in the game's final two minutes but ultimately fell 57-51 to visiting Northwestern State in Southland Conference women's basketball action on Sunday afternoon inside Sharp Gym.
The Demons (4-7, 1-1 SLC) scored the game's first seven points and got out to a 9-2 lead in the first five minutes. That lead grew to 10, 14-4, after a Sharna Ayres three-pointer with 1:54 on the clock but the Huskies (4-7, 1-1 SLC) were able to cut that deficit down to six, 16-10, after scoring the final four points of the quarter.
HCU used a 6-0 run in the middle of the second with buckets from
Mariyah Brown,
Erin Maguire and
Hannah Fields to pull within one, 20-19. Over the final five minutes of the half, the Demons closed with a 6-0 run of their own for a 26-19 advantage at the break.
The Huskies opened the second half with baskets on their first two trips down the floor to pull back within three, 26-23. HCU got within three on three more occasions in the third quarter but Northwestern State had an answer every time. Maguire one of two free throw attempts with 1:20 to go in the quarter to make it a 33-30 ballgame but the visitors scored five points in the final 46 seconds of the quarter to lead 38-30.
The fourth quarter began with NSU scoring the first four points to make it a 9-0 run and give the Demons their largest lead of the game, 42-30. The Huskies responded with a quick five-point burst to get back within seven. The Demons maintained a lead of between seven and 11 points for the next five minutes, holding a 52-41 advantage with just 2:01 left to play.
Tiffany Tullis knocked down her first three-pointer of the season and
Kierra Prim connected on a pair of free throws two possessions later to cut it to just a six-point game, 52-46, at the 54 second mark.
NSU's Vernell Atamah made one of two free throws on the next possession and HCU's
Tove Caesar drew a foul on a three-point attempt shortly after, going to the line for three with 48 seconds left. Caesar knocked down all three and the Huskies trailed just 53-49. Nia Hardison missed a pair of free throws just two seconds later with Tullis pulling down the rebound for the Huskies. Caesar missed on a three-point attempt following the miss, however, and the Demons made their free throws on consecutive possessions to get back up by eight before ultimately pulling out the six-point win over the Huskies.
Maguire led the Huskies with 11 points and pulled down a career-high six rebounds while Prim finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. Fields ended her day with nine points, seven rebounds and three steals. Tullis had seven points and seven rebounds while
Victoria Dixon added eight points and
Jo Oly tied her career-best of three blocked shots.
The Huskies shot 31.3 percent (20-of-64) for the game but connected on 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the foul line. The Demons, meanwhile, shot 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the field and hit 13-of-20 (65 percent) on free throws. NSU held a 41-38 advantage on the boards while the Huskies forced the visitors into 16 turnovers with just 12 miscues.
The Huskies will hit the road later this week for a pair of SLC contests, first taking on Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, Jan. 2, in Nacogdoches, Texas before continuing on to Beaumont, Texas to face Lamar on Saturday, Jan. 4.
