BROWNWOOD, Texas - The Howard Payne University women's basketball team used stellar second half defense to defeat the University of Texas at Dallas 69-68 Saturday afternoon in the Brownwood Coliseum.

The Howard Payne defense held UT Dallas to just 18.7% (3 of 16) shooting in the fourth quarter and 35.8% (24 of 67) for the game. 

In a high scoring first half, both teams shot well from the field connecting on around 50% for their shots.The Lady Jackets used a 21 point third quarter to gain a five point advantage heading into the final quarter.

It was a defensive battle for both teams to end the game with UTD scoring seven points and HPU posting four points in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Jackets were led by Salina Ali with 14 points, five assists and four steals. Lily Janek added 11 points, Chelsey Harris had nine points and Kayla Brigance grabbed a team high eight rebounds.

Paris Brinkley led UTD with 14 points followed by Sydney Brock with 12 points.

Howard Payne is now 1-3 overall and 1-0 in American Southwest Conference action. UTD stands at 4-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Yellow Jackets will hit the road next week for games at Louisiana College on Thursday at 5:30 pm and at Belhaven University on Saturday at 1:00 pm.