HOUSTON – The HCU women's basketball team opened strong but couldn't withstand UIW's perimeter shooting, falling 74–65 Thursday night at Sharp Gym.
Madison Hurta,
Grace Booth,
Tove Caesar, and
Sidney Carr all finished with 11 points, while
Jordan Jackson added 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies on the glass.
HCU controlled the early tempo, starting the night with points from Carr and Hurta and building a 9–3 lead, but UIW answered with a trio of first-quarter threes from Gwendlyn McGrew, tying the game 9–9. Caesar and
Dasia Hyams scored inside to push the Huskies back ahead, and HCU ended the quarter up 13–12.
UIW struck quickly to open the second, hitting two more threes from McGrew to take the lead. Carr stopped the run with a corner three, and Booth's pull-up tied it 18–18 off a turnover. Caesar kept HCU close with three layups in the period, but UIW closed strong behind another pair of threes and a last-second layup from Madison Cockrell, giving the Cardinals a 31–24 halftime lead.
UIW stretched the margin early in the third, hitting back-to-back threes to go up 37–26. Booth and Caesar responded with layups, and Jackson knocked down four straight free throws to cut it to single digits. Hurta sparked a late push, burying back-to-back threes to bring the Huskies within 48–49, but UIW answered with a go-ahead layup and two free throws to hold a 52–50 lead heading into the fourth.
HCU tied it 52–52 on Booth's layup to start the final quarter, and
Kamryn McLaurin scored inside to put the Huskies briefly back in front. UIW responded with a 7–0 run, fueled by a fast-break layup and free throws, and later stretched the margin with consecutive threes from Jorja Elliott. The Cardinals closed the game at the rim, and despite late baskets from Carr and
Hannah Fields, the Huskies couldn't close the gap.
HCU finished with 30 points in the paint and converted 20 points off turnovers, but UIW countered with 12 made threes and 36 bench points.
Up next, the Huskies stay home on Saturday, hosting UTRGV at 1 p.m. at Sharp Gym before traveling to Edinburg for the rematch on Thursday night.
