MARSHALL, Texas --The Howard Payne women's basketball team kept East Texas Baptist to just 34.7 percent shooting from the field, but fell 68-52 to the Tigers on the road Saturday.
Madison Clay led the Yellow Jackets (4-14, 0-2) with 18 points. Caitlyn Panuco tacked on four points, four assists and four steals and Kiana Henning helped out with nine points and six rebounds.
The Howard Payne defense held East Texas Baptist shooters to just 34.7 percent from the field. The Yellow Jackets also kept Madison Hurta to 4-of-14 shooting in the game.
How It Happened
After falling behind 13-4, Howard Payne went on a 5-0 run with 2:47 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Azaylee Santos, to narrow its deficit to 13-9. East Texas Baptist answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Yellow Jackets down 16-11 entering the second quarter.
The Yellow Jackets continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 37-13 halftime deficit.
East Texas Baptist continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 41-16 advantage before Howard Payne went on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Clay, to trim its deficit to 41-24 with 6:13 to go in the third. The Yellow Jackets continued to reduce the East Texas Baptist lead, shrinking it to 48-33 by the end of the third quarter. Howard Payne turned three offensive rebounds into four second chance points on the way to scoring 20 total points in the quarter.
East Texas Baptist kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 66-44 advantage before Howard Payne went on a 5-0 run to shrink the deficit to 66-49 with 1:08 to go in the contest. The Yellow Jackets kept their comeback going, but East Texas Baptist managed to hold on for the 68-52 win. Howard Payne got a boost from its bench in the period, with non-starters scoring 12 of its 19 total points.
Game Notes
» The Yellow Jackets held the Tigers to only 34.7 percent shooting from the field.
» The Yellow Jackets shared the ball well, recording an assist on 61 percent of made field goals.
» Madison Clay led the Yellow Jackets with a game-high 18 points.
» Howard Payne got a team-high six rebounds from Kiana Henning.
Howard Payne will face off against Hardin-Simmons January 28th, 2025 at 5:30 P.M. The game will be played in Brownwood.
