ABILENE, Texas – Following a 44-point first half, the LeTourneau Unviersity women's basketball team found themselves able to score just 21 points in the second half in a 76-65 road loss to Hardin-Simmons University at the Mabee Complex in Abilene, Texas on Saturday, January 6th.
 
The loss leaves the YellowJackets with a 3-10 overall record and 0-6 mark in the American Southwest Conference while the Cowgirls improved to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in the ASC.
 
"We were outsized tonight and it showed in the final rebounding margin (45-32 HSU)" said head coach Cassi Rozanski in a post-game interview. "We knew they were a great team on the boards and we couldn't keep them off of the glass throughout the game." "We also left too many points at the free throw line by going 17-30." "You can't win close games with those types of numbers despite having a great effort and the energy to be successful."
 
After hitting just under 50 percent of their shots in the first half (16-33, 48.5 percent), LETU would be limited in the second 20 minutes of action while hitting just five of 21 shots (23.8 percent) and going 0-6 from three. HSU was able to stay a bit more consistent on the offensive end, combining a 13-28 (46.4 percent) first half with an 11-26 (42.3 percent) effort in the second half to finish with a 44.4 percent shooting percentage (24-54).
 
Senior Ashley Reed played a key role in the offensive outburst in the first half, scoring 21 points in the opening period before adding another six points in the second half to finish with a game-high 27 points and two assists. Keauna Whitfield also managed to get to the 20-point mark, finishing right at 20 points while grabbing six rebounds. Jaila Leaven led the YellowJackets with seven rebounds to go along with six points and three assists.
 
A back and forth start to the game would find LeTourneau jumping out to a 6-2 lead before seeing Hardin-Simmons go on an 8-0 run to claim a 10-6 lead with 4:39 left in the opening quarter. Whitfield responded for the YellowJackets by hitting a triple to bring LETU back to within one, but six straight points for the Cowgirls put the lead at 16-9 in favor of the home team before the YellowJackets would close out the quarter by scoring eight of the final 10 points.
 
Hardin-Simmons would manage to maintain their single-digit lead for much of the second quarter, as the Cowgirls would have a response for every LETU bucket to pull the game within a single possession. After cutting the deficit down to one at 31-30 with 6:10 left in the first half, HSU would use a layup before a Reed three tied the game at 33 at the midway point of the second quarter. LeTourneau then managed to take their first lead of the second quarter with just 1:39 left in the first half on a Whitfield jumper in the paint and go on a 9-0 run before a Taylor Gaffney free throw with one second left made the score 44-40 at halftime in favor of LETU.
 
Free throws and foul trouble would be the story of the second half, starting right away in the third quarter as LETU managed to score six of their 12 points in the quarter from the charity stripe. Hardin-Simmons also found opportunities to be bountiful at the free throw line, tying the game at 45-45 with 7:44 left in the third before reclaiming the lead on a free throw just one second later. The Hardin-Simmons lead would grow to four at 52-48 before LETU managed to cut the lead back down to one at 52-51, but nine of the final 14 points would be scored by the Cowgirls to give HSU a 61-56 lead at the end of the third.
 
All the fouls called in the first three quarters started to pile up in the fourth for the YellowJackets, with Hardin-Simmons scoring the only two buckets that would be scored in the opening five minutes of the quarter. LeTourneau would finally manage to find points down the stretch, but could not find the necessary stops to close the gap while seeing three players foul out in the final minutes.
 
ASC East Divisional play starts next Saturday, January 13th for LETU when the YellowJackets return home to take on Texas-Dallas at 2 p.m. The game will serve as the first home event for LETU in the newly renovated Solheim Arena which received new seating over the Christmas break.