BROWNWOOD, Texas- The Howard Payne University, women's basketball team lost to conference opponent Hardin-Simmons University 78-45 Thursday evening in the Brownwood Coliseum.

Howard Payne's Bria Neal had her sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

The Lady Jackets led the Cowgirls 11-6 at the end of the first quarter but could not keep the momentum going in the second quarter, falling behind 36-18.

HPU's struggles continued into the second half, causing them to fall behind 58-32 at the end of the third quarter.

The Lady Jackets could not recover in the fourth quarter, dropping the home game 78-45.

Bria Neal led all scorers with 21 points. Salina Ali had seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Brittany Schnabel led Hardin-Simmons with 19 points and four rebounds.

The Lady Jackets fall to 3-12 on the season and 1-10 in American Southwest Conference action. The Cowgirls improve to 11-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play.

Howard Payne will play McMurry on Saturday, January 15th at 1:00 PM in the Brownwood Coliseum.