LONGVIEW – Make it five in a row.
 
LeTourneau University women's basketball team won its fifth straight game Saturday, beating McMurry, 62-53, at Solheim Arena.
 
LETU newcomer Ajanae Thomas scored 21 points, marking the second game this week she topped 20. She was 8 of 15 from the floor, and had eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals as the YellowJackets improved to 6-1 overall, 2-0 in the American Southwest Conference.
 
"It's really just my teammates," Thomas said. "They give me the confidence to get in a groove, and they give me open looks."
 
Thomas scored on a lay-in with 3:57 to play in the third quarter to put the Jackets ahead, 46-23. McMurry (0-5, 0-2) cut it to 46-30 when Taya Bridges buried a 3-pointer at the 1:52 mark. After Thomas sank a pair of free throws, Ty Moon scored on an assist from Scruffy Hopkins, and then canned a triple with four seconds left in the quarter to send the YellowJackets into the final period ahead by 23.
 
Faith Hudson and Moon each scored in the first 1:33 of the last quarter to give LETU a 25-point lead. But McMurry went on an 11-2 run, whittling the deficit down to 12. Bridges hit another three-pointer, and Destiny Mathews scored in the closing seconds to draw within nine, but time ran out.
 
"I'm just so happy for the girls," LeTourneau coach Cassi Rozanski said. "They really have bought in. And they deserve all the support, all the recognition because they are not only great players, but good people, too, and we're really lucky to have them here."
 
Keauna Whitfield scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals. Malacia Guy had five points, seven assists and two steals. Hopkins added four points, seven rebounds and three steals. Moon scored a season-high seven points. Mathews paced McMurry with 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Bridges added 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. D'Asia White scored 11 points.
 
The Jackets outscored the War Hawks, 21-4, in second chance opportunities.
 
"All we have to do is keep our momentum alive," Thomas said. "We can't let teams run us. We have to run them."
 
LeTourneau will play at Ozarks Thursday and the University of Texas at Dallas Saturday.
 
"We've just got to keep getting better. Just keep getting better and try to capitalize on things we need to fix," Rozanski said. "We're going to learn from what we need to in this game, and move on, and get ready for next week."