Howard Payne battled on the road Tuesday night in a conference matchup at East Texas Baptist, ultimately falling 76 to 61 in Marshall. Despite the final score, the Yellow Jackets showed resilience throughout and continued to demonstrate growth on both ends of the floor against a tough ASC opponent.

Howard Payne was led by Kate Buchanan, who turned in an efficient performance with 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting while adding eight rebounds to anchor the paint. Amaris Ambriz provided a strong scoring lift with 14 points, including key baskets that helped the Lady Jackets answer runs in the first half. Caitlyn Parsons added nine points and five boards, and Hope Hermesmeyer logged heavy minutes while contributing eight points and steady defensive presence.

The Yellow Jackets competed well on the glass, finishing with 39 total rebounds and 12 offensive boards that created second chance opportunities throughout the game. Their activity inside and willingness to battle for extra possessions kept momentum within reach during key stretches. Howard Payne continued to share the basketball and showed poise against defensive pressure, producing productive possessions that reflected the team's continued development in conference play.

"I'm proud of the way our group competed for forty minutes," said Head Coach Rodney Gee. "We had stretches where we executed at a high level and showed what we are capable of. Our effort on the boards and our fight on the road are things we can build on. ETBU is a great team but our girls fought hard on the road in a tough environment." 

Howard Payne will look to carry the positive momentum from its effort in Marshall into the next stretch of conference play when they return home on Saturday, February 14th against East Texas Baptist.