HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University took the lead late in the fourth quarter to cap a huge rally, then held on for a 54-49 victory over University of New Orleans on Saturday in Sharp Gym. The Huskies trailed by as many as 11 early and by nine with six minutes to play before the huge turnaround that avenged a loss two weeks ago in the Big Easy.
 
The Privateers opened the game strong holding HCU to just two points over the first eight minutes, and a layup by Nora Francois gave the visitors a 13-2 lead with 1:55 to play in the opening stanza. The Huskies responded with a quick burst, scoring nine of the next 11 points with a Tove Caesar three-pointer pulling them to within four just seconds in the second quarter.
 
After a jumper by Erin Maguire got the hosts to within three, UNO pushed the lead back to eight on three separate occasions, the final on a free throw by Jayla Kimbrough with 22 seconds left in the half. Victoria Dixon hit a jumper with four ticks remaining to get the HCU deficit down to six, 25-19 at the break.
 
UNO slowly pushed that lead back up again in the third period. Layups from Jasmine Jones and Shanihya Brown pushed the margin to eight midway through, and to nine on a Kimbrough jumper in the paint with 3:22 to go.
 
Again the Huskies would make a late quarter push. Lyric Barr scored on a layup, Tiffany Tulis got a steal and a breakaway layup and Mariayah Brown knocked down a layup on the break with four seconds to go, pulling HCU to within five, 36-31 heading to the final 10 minutes.
 
The fourth quarter began much like the first three, with the Privateers stretching their advantage back out. UNO pushed the edge to nine once more, again on a Kimbrough score, to take a 44-35 lead with 6:03 to play.
 
That is where the Huskies began their march to the finish line, started off by a Madelyne Davis floater in the paint. By the 2:30 mark the Huskies had taken their first lead, 45-44 on a jumper from Erin Maguire.
 
After a free throw by Kimbrough tied the score, Amy Cotton found a cutting Tulis for a layup and the harm. The three-point play gave HCU the lead for good and Cotton followed with a jumper, her only bucket of the afternoon, extending the lead to five with 1:13 left. A pair of free throws from Hannah Fields and Brown finished off the game-ending 19-5 run.
   
Shooting just 36% after the first three periods, the Huskies blistered the nets in the fourth, hitting 8-11 shots for 73% while also knocking down 7-7 from the free throw line. HCU, which had 23 points combined in the second and third periods, scored 23 to turn the tables in the fourth frame, led by Tiffany Tulis who had seven of her game-high 15 points in the game-ending run.
 
Tulis was the only HCU player in double-figure scoring and added seven boards. Mariyah Brown had eight points and eight rebounds and Amy Cotton, while only scoring one bucket on the afternoon, led the Huskies with 10 caroms and seven assists.
 
UNO (2-20 / 2-11 SLC) placed a trio of players in double-figures, led by Nora Francois with 13 points to go with seven boards and four steals, both team-highs. Kimbrough added 12 points while Jasmine Jones had 10.
 
HCU improves to 6-17 on the season and 3-11 in Southland play, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Huskies hit the highway for a trip down the coast this week, playing return games against rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday and UTRGV on Saturday in Edinburg.

The Huskies fell to TAMUCC at home 62-55 on January 16 but followed that with a 67-64 win over UTRGV on the 18th.
 
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