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AUSTIN, Texas  –  The mission for McMurry University's women's basketball team is simple if it wants to win the American Southwest Conference West Division: Just win the games ahead of you. The War Hawks (15-6, 13-4 ASC) currently sit in third place in the standings, just one game behind the co-leaders.

As Head Coach Veronica Snow's team begins its final regular season road trip of the season on Thursday evening (5:30 p.m.), it will have its first opportunity to take aim at one of the teams ahead of it, in Concordia-Texas. The last time these two teams met in Abilene back on January 19, the War Hawks blew past the Division-leading Tornados by a 55-39 score.

That game was the second of what would become a seven-game win streak by the McMurry team. The skein was snapped last Saturday at Texas Lutheran. But Snow's squad is ready to get back to its winning ways and – despite having already clinched a berth in the ASC post-season – knows that this is a critical game if it wants the West top seed.

“This is a very big game,” Snow said. “It's going to be a battle. It's going to be their inside game versus how well we shoot from outside. We need another defensive effort like we had the last meeting.”

After its lost at McMurry, Concordia reeled off five-consecutive wins of its own to keep pace and lost last Saturday to co-leader Howard Payne (McMurry hosts Howard Payne next week in Abilene).

The Tornados' tandem of Shamika Singleton and Lashanda Luckey paces the offense of Concordia. Singleton 11.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while Luckey is at 10.8 p.p.g. Singleton also averages 2.3 steals per game.

McMurry's defense has held foes to a miniscule 54.1 points per game through the first 21 contests. The War Hawks are also out-rebounding the competition by 7.2 boards per game. The War Hawks, who are averaging better than 37 percent from the floor on the year – also want to avoid a poor shooting nght like at the 28-percent that it produced at Texas Lutheran.

Keshia Collins still holds down the team's scoring lead at 15.0 p.p.g. and also heads the class in rebounding at 6.5 caroms per contest.

Rikeita Thomas has been hot of late and is coming off of a 16-point effort at TLU. Thomas averages 9.8 p.p.g. and has amassed 55 assists on the year (second only to Collins' 60 “helps” on the McM squad).

Senior Celeste Belizario contributes 8.2 points per outing and is third in rebounds at 5.8 r.p.g. (behind Collins and M.J. Vickers' 6.4 r.p.g.).