HSU Cowgirls sink record 19 3s in rout; Cowboys rally by McMurry again
The Hardin-Simmons women's basketball team has its sights on accomplishing many goals this season, with one already secured.
But first and foremost Saturday, it was not slipping up against McMurry in its second crosstown matchup of the season.
That didn't happen, by any stretch of the imagination.
The Cowgirls hit a school-record 19 3-point shots and topped 100 points for the first time since the 2009 season - a 102-58 win over Texas Lutheran - in routing the War Hawks 120-66 at the Hunt P.E. Center. HSU's total point fell short of the program record of 127.
It was the 19th straight win for HSU (22-2).
Seventeen players scored and eight hit at least one trey. Hallie Edmondson hit five 3-pointers and Samantha Tatum and Katie Hale four.
"We have a really good offensive team," HSU coach Kendra Whitehead said. "I think our defense gets overlooked at times. But we can really shoot the ball."
McMurry coach Drew Long could not disagree.
"They shot the ball extremely well," he said. "They're a team that, once they see one or two go in, it's one of those where you've got to learn to ride the waves a little bit with withstand the storm, so to speak. We didn't do a very good job of that."
And play fast.
"That's one of our strategies - we're trying to push the pace," Whitehead said. "Usually that creates some open shots."
McMurry was in a zone, so HSU took the 3 when it was there.
"But the transition game is what typically gets us open," she said.
HSU's previous high-point total this season was 95 in a home win over Howard Payne two weeks ago.
The 3-point fever was catching.
Coming off the bench, sophomore Hale took four shots, all, treys, and made each.
"Everyone we put in made a shot or a free throw, so offensively we were just feeling good out there," Whitehead said. "Sometimes you do want to say, 'Save a few of those for next week.' But just the excitement of everyone being able to go in and score, you would think that would built confidence going into next week."
The Cowgirls entered the game ranked in the top 10 in two polls and riding an 17-game winning streak. HSU has nailed down the top seed in the Feb. 24-25 American Southwest Conference tournament, which now will be in Abilene.
Going into the final week of the regular season, HSU could finish unbeaten in conference play, which would be quite an achievement.
The first of three games came against an improved McMurry team. Hardin-Simmons won 78-49 more than a month ago at the Mabee Center.
"We got frustrated," Long said of his team. "And we let that frustration affect the game plan. And it just snowballed. Basketball is a game of runs, and you've got to be able to withstand those. If you're shots aren't falling, that shouldn't dictate the energy on the defensive end."
The only problem Saturday was that HSU seemed to on a 40-minute run.
The Cowgirls missed a trey on its first possession but took the lead for good on Tatum's first 3 the next time downcourt. Paris Kiser hit another and the Cowgirls were off and galloping.
Halfway through the first quarter, HSU led 22-7, a pace that would take the team over 100 if maintained. The Cowgirls did just that.
Whitehead began subbing liberally in the second quarter and her starters watched the fourth quarter from the bench. HSU led 95-41 going into the fourth quarter.
It wasn't that McMurry played poorly. The long shots simply were falling for HSU, which had more trouble at times getting a shot to fall underneath.
Joining Edmondson, Tatum and Hale with treys were She'Ray Wilson with two and Paris Kiser, Kylie Ellsworth, Aiken Semones and K.K. Roberson, a freshman from Abilene High, with one each.
And not only did HSU shoot lights out from beyond the arc, the Cowgirls sank 21 of 24 free shots.
McMurry hit just five 3-pointers, with Kylie Flippin sinking two.
HSU was able to rest Kiki Gonzales, who has ankle soreness.
Hardin-Simmons returns to the Mabee Complex for its final two regular season games, playing Concordia on Thursday and Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday. The Cru are tied for second with East Texas Baptist, so if HSU is playing for an 18-0 conference run, it will be tested.
The Cowgirls won 87-78 in Belton a month ago.
"We wanted to be playing our best basketball at the end of February," Whitehead said. "And hopefully going into March do a good job."
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE WOMEN
No. 8/9 Hardin-Simmons 120, McMurry 66
Hardin-Simmons … 32 … 26 … 33 … 29 – 120
McMurry… 16 … 15 … 14 … 21-- 66
Hardin-Simmons (21-2, 16-0) – Parris Palmer 3 1-1 7, Natasha Blizzard 5 4-6 14, Paris Kiser 1 4-4 7, Hallie Edmondson 5 2-2 17, Samantha Tatum 4 1-2 12, Aiken Semones 2 0-0 5, Kylie Ellsworth 2 1-2 6, She'Ray Wilson 3 0-0 8, Morgan Travis 1 0-0 2, Mikayla Ross 3 0-0 6 K.K. Robertson 1 0-0 3, Brylee Smith 1 3-3 5, Katie Hale 4 0-0 12, Sayler Beerwinkle 1 0-0 2, Bailie Deaver 0 1-2 1, Angelene Sacco 2 2-2 6, Kennedy Green 2 0-0 5. Totals 40 21-24 120.
McMurry (11-11, 5-11) - Kylie Flippin 3 0-0 8, Taya Bridges 0 0-0 0, Jada Morris 1 1-2 3, Erin McNabb 1 0-0 3, Emil Holland 2 2-2 7, Helana Chadwick 1 1-2 5, Aryana Cleveland 2 7-10 11, Destiny Matthews 3 3-8 9, Skylar Simmons 1 0-0 3, Kaitlyn Randall 4 2-4 10, Jaycee Brannon 3 1-2 7. Totals 22 17-30 66
3-Point Goals – HSU 19 (Edmondson 5, Tatum 4, Hale 4, Wilson 2, Kiser, Ellsworth, Semones, Roberson). McMurry 5 (Flippin 2, McNabb, Holland, Simmons). Total Fouls – HSU 22, McMurry xx. Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – Flippin (McM)
Cowboys dominate second half to rally by War Hawks
The winning teams on the court Saturday at Kimbrell Arena each almost hit 100, which may have been some sort of local record.
But with a minute to play, Hardin-Simmons coach Matt Brackett pulled back his players. A hard-earned 98-83 win over McMurry was enough.
The win keeps HSU (16-7, 11-5) in fourth place in the American Southwest Conference. Two big games are scheduled this week, the first against Concordia Texas, which is a game behind the Cowboys. The finale is against Mary Hardin-Baylor, which is tied for first with UT-Dallas at 14-2.
A win over the Cru, which beat HSU 92-77 in Belton, could cost UMHB the regular season title and give HSU momentum heading into the ASC tournament.
McMurry still could make the tournament but needs help. Coach Zach Pickelman said his team needed at least to split the back-to-back games with HSU.
Brackett almost had to whisper instructions to his team late the game. His voice worked overtime as did his team Thursday.
"That was a pretty quick turnaround," he admitted. But Brackett was smiling.
Still hoarse from that 116-104 overtime win over the same War Hawks, a game in which the Cowboys rallied from 17 down, Brackett and his coaches were challenged Saturday. McMurry changed its offensive strategy and played from ahead after trailing 4-0. A layup by Remy Minor gave McMurry a 6-4 lead and the War Hawks would lead by as many as 10 points in the first half.
"They made some really good adjustment," Brackett said of McMurry. "It hurt us in the first half. This game between Hardin-Simmons and McMurry is always going to be tight, full of competition. As expected, they competed really, really hard."
McMurry was able to get the ball in the middle of the floor and spread HSU defenders, creating the shots they wanted.
"They just got us in scramble situations," he said.
McMurry last led by 10 at 35-25 but HSU was able whittle its deficit to 49-46 at halftime, boosted by Will Bartoszek's long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"Our halftime speech was a lot about defense," Brackett said. "I was pretty upset with our guys about how we handled it in the first half. We did a good job in the second half getting the ball inside and containing their shooters."
The War Hawks got a trey and jumper from Matt Pena to start the second half and upped its lead to six at 54-48.
That's when HSU took over.
Jared Bomer got a shot underneath to roll in, Steven Quinn sank a layup and Bomer scored again to tie the game at 54. HSU took the lead for good at 57-56 on a Bartoszek free shot.
The Cowboys' spurt continued with an Aidan Walsh layup, two free shots and jump shot by Jason Justice, who had been 1-for-7 in the first half after scoring 30 on Thursday.
McMurry did not get closer than four points the rest of the game. HSU's biggest lead was 17 points.
McMurry coach Zach Pickelman said a combination of not getting shots to fall and HSU's defense did in his team.
"They forced us into a lot of tough shots. We're trying to outscore people," he said.
The War Hawks are averaging right at 90 points a game.
Two free sots by Bartoszek put HSU at 100 points but Brackett told his players to pull back on offense and run out the clock, a courtesy to his crosstown rival.
He praised his defense, which gave up 34 second-half points to the War Hawks, one of the top scoring teams in Division III.
"So us to hold them to 34 points in the second half is a really big deal," Brackett said. "Our guys did a great job of adjusting. "
McMurry hit 45% in the first half but 28% in the second half as HSU made those shots tougher with better defense, Brackett said.
It was a game with a lot of shooting - the teams combined for 145 shots - 81 by McMurry, which took a whopping 43 3-point attempts (making 13).
HSU for the game hit 53% of its shots from the field. Even better, the Cowboys were sharp shooters at the foul line sinking 24 of 26.
Steven Quinn led all scorers with 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting. Bartoszek had 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Stamford grad Austin Brewer was a force in the second half, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Walsh had 14 points and Bomer and Justice 10 each.
For McMurry (6-17, 5-11), five players scored in double figures, with Elias Garcia getting 16 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. Pena had 16, C.J. LeBlanc and Elijah Lomas 13 and Minor 12.
Pickelman had praise for Garcia.
"He's outsized and outweighed against most of our opponents but he battled down there," he said.
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE MEN
Hardin-Simmons 98, McMurry 83
Hardin-Simmons … 46 … 52 – 98
McMurry … 49 … 34 – 83
Hardin-Simmons (16-7, 11-5) – Steven Quinn 8 8-8 25, Will Bartoszek 6 3-5 17, Jared Bomer 5 0-0 10, Jason Justice 3 4-4 10, Calaway Dykes 1 2-2 4, Austin Brewer 4 6-6 15, Jamison Bosch 1 1-1 3, Aidan Walsh 6 0-0 14, Trevioin Howell 0 0-0 0. Totals 34 24-26 98
McMurry (6-17, 5-11) – Elias Garcia 7 1-2 16, Rob Charles 2 0-0 4, Remy Minor 4 2-2 12, T.J. Hilliard 1 3-4 5, Matt Pena 6 4-8 16, C.J. LeBlanc 13, Elijah Lomas 4 2-2 13, Andrew Stevenson 2 0-0 4, K.C. Udolisa 0 0-2 0. Totals 30 10-14 83
3-Point Goals – Hardin-Simmons 6 (Bartoszek 2, Walsh 2, Quinn, Brewer) McMurry 13 (Pena 4, Lomas 3, LeBlanc 3, Minor 2, Garcia). Total Fouls – HSU 17, 20. Fouled Out – None. Technical Fouls – None.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: HSU Cowgirls sink record 19 3s in rout; Cowboys rally by McMurry again
