LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University women's basketball team opened American Southwest Conference play with an 80-65 win over Hardin-Simmons Thursday at Solheim Arena.
 
LETU's Ajanae Thomas scored 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and had two blocks. Keauna Whitfield finished with 19 points, eight assists and three steals. Malacia Guy had 10 points, eight assists and three steals.
 
The YellowJackets (5-1, 1-0 ASC) will host McMurry 1 p.m. Saturday.
 
LeTourneau shot a blazing 64.7 percent from the floor in the first quarter, going 11 of 17, to race out to a 29-15 lead. HSU (5-2, 0-1) was 7 of 17 in the period.
 
Kyndall Hardeman gave the Jackets a 14-point lead with 5:31 to play in the first half when she scored on an assist from Scruffy Hopkins. Hopkins increased the lead to 18 on a fastbreak bucket a little over a minute later. Whitfield scored on another transition basket to double up HSU, 42-21.
 
The Cowgirls trimmed the gap to 16 on a three-pointer by Hallie Edmondson, but Thomas canned a triple of her own, and Flora Akingbade scored in the paint to bump the margin back to 21. It was LeTourneau's largest lead of the game. Brittany Schnabel's field goal inside the last minute pulled Hardin-Simmons within 17 at the break.
 
LETU cooled off in the second quarter, going 7 of 20 from the field, and just 1 of 6 from long distance. HSU was 6 of 16, and 1 of 2 from beyond the 3-point line.
 
Edmondson converted a three-point play 4:35 into the second half to pull the Cowgirls within 12. But Hardeman knocked down a pair of jumpers to build the Jackets' lead back to 16. Thomas and Whitfield each sank a pair of free throws within the first 3:05 of the final quarter to put LeTourneau on top, 74-55. The Cowgirls got no closer than 15 the rest of the way.
 
LETU never trailed in the game, and led for all but 18 seconds when Guy hit a 3-pointer for the game's first basket.
 
The YellowJackets matched the Cowgirls with 38 rebounds. It was only the second time this season LeTourneau did not outrebound its opponent.
 
LETU's 80 points was a season high.