HOUSTON – HCU got a career-best performance from
Makolla Bagayegou but the Huskies' women's basketball team suffered a 64-55 defeat at the hands of Northwestern State in Southland Conference play in Sharp Gym on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams traded baskets for the first 7:30 of game time with Northwestern State (10-16, 6-9 SLC) finally stringing together two buckets late and taking a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Elizabeth Matadi scored for the Huskies (6-20, 1-14 SLC) early in the second quarter and on the next Lady Demons possession,
N'Denasija Collins came up with a steal and quickly found
Hannah Fields down the floor for a fast break layup and a 15-13 lead.
A couple of minutes later,
Enya Maguire knocked down a three for an 18-15 lead. A few minutes later, HCU held a 22-21 lead following a Bagayegou layup but NSU answered by closing the half with an 11-6 run and a 32-28 lead at the break.
The Huskies scored the first five points of the second half to regain the lead but the Lady Demons quickly answered with a 9-0 run to go ahead, 41-33. As the third quarter wore on, HCU fought its way back and a pair of Bagayegou free throws cut the HCU deficit to just one, 46-45, at the end of the third.
In the fourth, the Lady Demons opened the quarter with a 12-2 run for their largest lead of the game, 58-48. HCU wasn't done, however, putting together a 7-0 run to pull back within three, 58-55, with just 1:47 to play. The Huskies went scoreless the rest of the way, though, as NSU pulled away for good.
Bagayegou finished the day with a career-high 19 points in 28 minutes off the bench, shooting 6-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line. The freshman also had four rebounds and three steals.
Enya Maguire knocked down 4-of-6 from behind the arc to add 12 points off the bench and pulled down five rebounds.
HCU won the battle on the boards, 31-29, but was hurt by 20 turnovers while NSU committed just 13. The Huskies ended the game shooting 41.7 percent (20-of-48) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three while going a perfect 8-of-8 (100 percent) from the charity stripe. NSU, meanwhile, shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) overall, 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from behind the arc and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the foul line.
HCU visits Lake Charles, La. this coming Thursday, Feb. 29, for a game against the McNeese Cowgirls at the Legacy Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.
