ABILENE, Texas -- LeTourneau women's hoops authored a few valiant rallies, but they could not overcome an excellent Hardin-Simmons squad, losing by a final score of 85-56.

Mariana Espinosa scored a game-high 22 points for the YellowJackets (7-14, 1-4 ASC), who tried to claw back after falling behind early, but the Cowgirls (17-4, 3-2 ASC), who have been in or just outside of the top 25 most of the season, had just enough offense to hold off the rallies.

After a tough first quarter, in which LeTourneau fell behind by 18, the YellowJackets fought back and cut it to ten with an 8-0 run in the first 2:03 of the second period. That 8-0 run was sparked by Makenzie Covey, who hit a jumper and a pair of free throws in that stretch.

A subsequent small Cowgirl run extended the lead, but Sara Savage and Future Asevedo answered to draw back to within 11. The half would end, however, with Hardin-Simmons leading by 15.

That was as close as it would get the remainder of the game, as the Cowgirls outscored LeTourneau by 14 the rest of the way. Caitlyn Stanley and Sallie Moser would score four apiece in the fourth period, though, giving Hardin-Simmons some trouble on the perimeter. 

Asevedo scored nine for the YellowJackets, while also grabbing eight boards, dishing out four assists, and stealing the ball twice. Covey had a game-high nine rebounds to go with her six points and a rejection. Espinosa and Kylie Weeks had two steals each to aid the defensive effort.

The Cowgirls were led by Madison Williams, who had 12 points and a pair of steals. Kynnan Shields, Jacqueline Berry, and MaeSyn Gay also reached double figures in scoring for Hardin-Simmons. 

UP NEXT

LeTourneau concludes their west Texas conference road trip with a game against Howard Payne on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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