BROWNWOOD, Texas – Jada Evans sunk a buzzer beater during overtime to help the Howard Payne University women's basketball team defeat the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 71-69 on Thursday evening at the Brownwood Coliseum.
The Lady Jackets overcame an ugly first half where they committed 15 turnovers and shot just 34% from the field to battle back and force the game into overtime. Howard Payne (11-7, 8-1 ASC) outscored the Crusaders (11-6, 4-4 ASC) 44-19 in the games final three periods of play, including overtime, to collect their second straight buzzer-beater victory.
Micah Cisneroz finished with a game-leading 22 points while also pulling down eight rebounds and Jada Evans added 12 points along with the game-winner. The Lady Jackets received scoring contributions from eight of their 10 active players, including nine points from Sabrina Ochoa and eight points from Djimonii Jackson, to escape with the narrow victory.
Mary Hardin-Baylor used Howard Payne's early turnovers to run the floor and create fast break buckets in the first period. Behind the steady play of Kendall Rollins, who finished with 20 points for the Crusaders, they pulled ahead 19-8 in the first period while the Lady Jackets went 4-18 from the field.
Djimonii Jackson and Jada Evans led a comeback during the second period, scoring key buckets to help trigger a rally. Howard Payne trailed by as much as 18 points with 7:25 left in the first half but came from behind to bring the score to 38-31 at the half after forcing some turnovers of their own..
Things got feisty in the third period, with both teams exchanging turnovers to start the half. Valarie Matlock hit a big jumper and the Lady Jackets forced a turnover on the ensuing possession that got Djimonii Jackson open for a fast break bucket to pull Howard Payne within six points, 50-44 heading into the final period of play.
Mary Hardin-Baylor continued to hold their lead well into the fourth quarter until Micah Cisneroz hit a three pointer and a jumper in the paint to bring the score to a 56-56 tie. The free throw after gave the Lady Jackets their first lead of the game since they scored the first bucket to start the contest and the two teams traded buckets to close out regulation.
Howard Payne fouled the Crusaders late in the game, but they failed to convert on both attempts. Micah Cisneroz made them pay when she took a pass from Valarie Matlock in the paint and scored to force the game into overtime with .09 seconds remaining.
The Lady Jackets held UMHB to 2-8 from the field and 0-2 from range in overtime but the Crusaders received five free-throws and converted on four of them to pull ahead by six points with 2:47 remaining. Sabrina Ochoa buried a three and Cisneroz answered with a layup in the paint but Howard Payne still trailed, 69-66 with 1:46 left to go.
That's when Jada Evans stepped up and scored the games final two possessions, including a three pointer with .52 seconds left to tie the game up at 69-69. Evans' play on the final possession was a thing of beauty, holding onto the ball until making a move toward the basket with one second remaining and hitting the clutch layup to deliver Howard Payne the victory at the buzzer.
Next up, the Lady Jackets are set to host Concordia University at the Brownwood Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 PM and Dallas Huston will have the call on 99.3 FM. Live video and stats will be made available at HPUsports.com and follow along on Twitter @HPUwbsk for in-game updates and more. Also, follow us on Instagram @HPUSports for interactive content of all HPU sports programs.
