East Texas Baptist led for most of the first 35 minutes against 10th-ranked Howard Payne Monday night. But the final five minutes proved to be just enough time for the Lady Jackets to rally to a 69-63 win over ETBU in Ornelas Gymnasium.
Midway through the second half, ETBU (2-2, 1-1 ASC) took as much as a 12-point lead on two different occasions over Howard Payne (4-0, 2-0).
But the three-time defending ASC champion Lady Jackets put a lid on the basket over the final five minutes, limiting ETBU to just four points at crunch time on the way to their eighth straight win in the series between the two schools.
ETBU held a three-point lead at the half and opened the second half on a 19-10 run to take a 51-39 lead with 11 minutes left.
That’s when Howard Payne began chipping away. Clarissa Krum drilled a three-pointer and Roshonda Gayden added a layup to make it 61-56 with four minutes to go.
Four straight free throws pulled HPU to within one at 61-60 with 1:56 remaining, and the Lady Jackets took the lead for good seconds later when Krum nailed another three from the corner for a 63-61 lead.
That gave the Lady Jackets their first lead in the game since a 12-11 advantage in the first half. HPU hit six of eight charity shots down the stretch to secure the win.
In the end the Lady Jackets’ performance at the free throw line made the difference. Howard Payne was 21 of 25 from the stripe for the game, including a 16 of 20 performance in the second half. ETBU hit only six of eight foul shots and got to the line just twice in the second half.
Howard Payne was led by Krum’s 18 points and eight rebounds. Gayden added 11 points along with Hope Hohertz.
Stewart led ETBU with 12 points off the bench. Harrell scored 11 points and Emily Leek added 10.
Howard Payne will play next at home on December 3rd at 5:30 pm against the University of the Ozarks.
