ABILENE, Texas --The Howard Payne University women's basketball team fell short in a 75-38 loss to the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls on the road Thursday.

Madison Clay led the Lady Jackets (4-20, 0-7) with 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Kiana Henning also added five points, two steals and two blocks and Azaylee Santos helped out with six points.

Howard Payne did a great job disrupting Hardin-Simmons shots in the contest, coming away with seven blocks. Kate Buchanan led the way individually for the Lady Jackets with two rejections.

How It Happened

Howard Payne struggled out of the gate, falling behind 20-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Jackets continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 45-17 halftime deficit.

Howard Payne's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Lady Jackets faced a 66-24 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Howard Payne knocked down one three-pointer in the quarter to score three of its seven total points.

Hardin-Simmons kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 75-31 advantage before Howard Payne went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Kaley Nicholson's three, to shrink the deficit to 75-38 with 19 seconds to go in the contest, a score which would hold for the rest of the game. Howard Payne fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down two shots to account for six of its 14 points.

Game Notes

» The Howard Payne defense forced 15 turnovers.
» The Lady Jackets were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording seven blocks as a team.
» Madison Clay led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points.
» Howard Payne got a game-high nine rebounds from Tatum Walker.

Howard Payne will play next on Feb. 20th at UT Dallas in Richardson, Texas at 5:30 pm.