BROWNWOOD, Texas - The Howard Payne University women's basketball team defeated the University of the Ozarks, 59-47 on Thursday evening at the Brownwood Coliseum. The result helped the Lady Jackets collect their fifth straight victory to begin ASC play. 

Sarahi Castillo led all players with 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, her sixth double-double on the season and Micah Cisneroz added 15 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks to help Howard Payne collect the win. Castillo's double-double ranks her among the ASC's best in the category and she's also ranked seventh in the nation for blocked shots with 33. 

Jada Evans finished with 10 points and Djimonii Jackson had a career-high, five steals in the victory. The Eagles are currently fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage, averaging .331 on the year, but Howard Payne was able to hold them to just 1-10 shooting while burying eight buckets from beyond the arc on the night. 

The Lady Jackets (7-4) were able to force 24 turnovers and collect 17 steals against the Eagles (6-5) while using the hot shooting of Sarahi Castillo to pull away in the second period. At the end of the half, Howard Payne had built a 12 point lead and closed out the first half up, 31-19.  

The Yellow Jackets led by as much as 13 and never led by fewer than eight points the rest of the way as they cruised to an easy victory. The Ozarks would keep fighting until the very end, but Howard Payne fought off several scoring runs and held on to get their seventh win of the season. 

Howard Payne is now 7-4 on the season and will host the University of Texas at Dallas on Saturday, December 17th at 1:00 pm. Live stats and video will be available on HPUSports.com and keep up with the Yellow Jackets on Twitter (@HPUJackets) and Instagram (@HPUSports)