LONGVIEW, Texas -- LeTourneau women's hoops forced 23 turnovers and played hard all game long, but Hendrix's strong second quarter gave them the victory at Solheim Arena, 66-55.

Mariana Espinosa led the way in scoring with 21 points and assists with five. Sara Savage led in rebounds with eight, followed closely by Espinosa and LaTerra Satcher, who collected seven apiece. Savage (four) and Satcher (three) stole the ball a combined seven times as well on the defensive end.

The YellowJackets jumped out to an early 11-4 lead in the first quarter, thanks to Espinosa's seven points. LeTourneau would continue to hold that advantage throughout the quarter, leading by as many as nine at one point. Gracie Hunter made her official collegiate debut with a bang in this span, forcing a bad pass briefly after entering and taking the steal to the cup for an easy layup.

The YellowJackets increased that lead to 10 early in the second quarter after two Savage free throws, and then Satcher hit one of her patented mid-range jumpers later in the quarter to maintain the 10-point lead. 

Hendrix, however, put together a furious rally, outscoring LeTourneau by fifteen the rest of the quarter to take a five-point halftime lead.

The Warriors kept up their rally in the third, outscoring the YellowJackets by six in the quarter. Espinosa hit a 3-pointer, however, to cut the Hendrix lead down to 11 going into the fourth.

LeTourneau was unable to mount a rally for most of the fourth, but then, with 1:18 remaining, rattled off a 7-0 run in just 13 seconds, closing the gap to six. The scoring in this stretch was distributed pretty evenly between Savage, Hunter, and Future Asevedo. Hendrix, however, was able to hold on late for the win. 

The Warriors had Shelby Heil go for 14 points, while Brailey Forst had nine points and 12 rebounds. 

UP NEXT

The YellowJackets hit the road for Irving, Texas, where they will play Dallas on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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