HOUSTON --- The HCU women's basketball team fell into a hole from the start and couldn't recover, falling to the UIW, 67-40, in Sharp Gym on Saturday afternoon in a Southland Conference matchup.
The Huskies (6-17, 1-11 SLC), playing with just nine available players, saw UIW (13-9, 6-5 SLC) start the game with an 11-0 run and the Cardinals never looking back. HCU finally got on the board just past the midway point of the first quarter on a pair of free throws by
Kennedy Wilson to stop the initial burst. The Cardinals, however, limited the Huskies to no field goals and just six made free throws to grab a 20-6 advantage after the opening stanza.
The second quarter started with a 7-2 run by the visitors, taking a 27-8 lead with 6:37 to go, as HCU continued to struggle from the floor. The Huskies finally saw a ball hit the bottom of the net when
Erin Maguire nailed a three-pointer from the corner with 6:21 to go in the second period. She scored again on a runner off the glass a moment later, as HCU tried to chip into the lead, 29-13.
A runner by
Hannah Fields off the window cut the UIW lead to 17 at the media timeout. The two teams combined for just six points the remainder of the way as UIW carried a 35-18 lead into the intermission.
The Huskies again struggled for points in the third quarter, netting just four total, as the Cardinals pulled away for the remainder of the game.
Maguire finished the day with a career-best 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor while knocking down 4-of-4 from the foul line. Freshman
Hannah Fields finished with seven points and seven rebounds while
N'Denasija Collins had six points and six rebounds.
The Huskies are off this Thursday before heading to Hammond, La. to face Southeastern on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 1:00 p.m.
