HBU Women's Basketball Rolls Past Arlington Baptist, 92-62

Photo by Erik Williams

HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 13, 2014) HBU women’s basketball shot 60 percent from the floor, outscored visiting Arlington Baptist, 64-22, in the paint, and out-rebounded the Patriots, 49-18, en route to a 92-62 victory Saturday afternoon at Sharp Gym.

 

Junior post Ashleigh Nwanguma recorded her first double-double of the season for HBU (4-3), and the second of her career, as she had season highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds in 16 minutes. Senior forward Shanice Steenholdt led the Huskies with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 19 minutes. Senior forward Erin McGarrachan tied her season high of 12 points, while Heidi Sihvola dropped 11.

 

Jade Johnson led ABC (6-2) with 15 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Morgan Hale and Tori Wise each scored 12 for the Patriots.

 

HBU jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Patriots got on the scoreboard with a made free throw by Johnson. HBU outscored the Patriots, 21-8, in a span of eight minutes to lead by 20, 29-9, with 9:52 remaining in the first half.

 

HBU led by as many as 23 before the Patriots used a 14-5 run to cut the deficit to 14, 39-25, following a steal and layup by Ainsley Richardson at the 3:12-mark.

 

A steal by Tayler Jefferson resulted in a Steenholdt layup to give HBU an 18-point advantage, 47-29, with just over a minute to go in the opening half. But Wise forced a steal and it resulted in a three-pointer by Hale, as HBU eventually led ABC at the break, 49-34.

 

Steenholdt led all players with 16 first-half points, while Nwanguma came off the bench to score 10 points and pull down a half-high nine rebounds. HBU shot 59 percent from the floor. Hale led ABC with 10 points, as the Patriots shot 39 percent from the floor.

 

The Huskies began the first five minutes of the second half outscoring the Patriots, 17-9, to bring their lead back to 23, 66-43. HBU continued to put the pedal to the metal, as they increased their lead to the 30s. At the 5:11-mark, freshman Carissa Diaz scored her first collegiate basket in Sharp Gym, giving HBU an 86-56 lead.

 

Erin McGarrachan led HBU with 10 second-half points, while Jefferson had seven points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals. HBU shot 61 percent from the floor in the half. The Patriots were led by Johnson with six points.

 

Prior to the game, Steenholdt was awarded a commemorative ball, honoring her 1,500th career point she earned at UT-Pan American Nov. 29. She is the program's all-time NCAA Division I leading scorer.

 

HBU hosts cross-town rival Texas Southern Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 6 pm.