BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Facing a nine-point halftime deficit, the LeTourneau women's basketball team turned up the defense and rallied back for a 62-58 victory at Howard Payne on Saturday afternoon in conference play.
LeTourneau (5-9, 1-6 ASC) has won four straight against Howard Payne and notched its third road win of the year.
Howard Payne (2-12, 0-8Â ASC) jumped out to a nine-point lead (37-28) at the half after making five 3-pointers in the first two quarters and shooting 64 percent in the first quarter alone.
Over the final 20 minutes, LeTourneau displayed its defensive prowess and held Howard Payne to only 30 percent shooting from the field and 17 turnovers.
The visiting YellowJackets used that defense and got back into the game. LeTourneau opened the third period on a 14-4 run, capped by a
Madelyn DeLosSantos layup, to give the guests a 42-41 lead with 4:47 left in the quarter. The teams traded the lead over the final five minutes of the period and Howard Payne took a one-point edge (50-49) into the fourth.
Defense again was key in the fourth for LeTourneau as Howard Payne scored just eight points and held to 23.5 percent from the field in the period.
Kyndall Hardeman's turnaround jumper with 5:45 left gave LeTourneau the lead for good at 55-54. That basket was part of an 8-0 run for the YellowJackets that stretched the lead to 59-54 after a
Kylie Weeks free throw with 4:41 left.
After Howard Payne got within three (59-56),
AJ Thomas answered with a layup to extend the lead back to five with 33 seconds left and secured the win.
Thomas had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead LeTourneau, while
Bailey Broughton added 11 points, four assists, and three steals.
Haylee Jordan collected 11 rebounds and scored six points. Weeks and DeLosSantos had eight points each while Hardeman and
Alyssa Hall had seven points apiece.
LeTourneau shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field and went 13-of-22 from the foul line.
Caitlyn Ward had 13 points to lead Howard Payne. The host Yellow Jackets struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 5-of-17, while making 36.9 percent (24-of-65) from the field.
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LeTourneau returns home on Thursday to face Ozarks (5:30 p.m.).
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