SAN ANTONIO, Texas – After a brief break for the Christmas holiday, the McMurry women's basketball team resumed action on the road, suffering a 63-47 loss to perennial NCAA III power Trinity University at Sams Gymnasium.
 
The War Hawks (1-13) trailed the Tigers (7-2) at the half by 11 points, 34-23.  TU out-scored McMurry 28-24 in the second stanza.
 
Bench scoring and turnovers proved to be the War Hawks undoing. Trinity's reserves contributed 27 points compared to 14 by McM's subs. TU also converted 22 McMurry miscues into 18 points.
 
McMurry led early at 15:32 of the first, 6-3, on a layup by Haley Welch. But two minutes later the host Tigers took the lead for good. Trinity led by as much as 22 points – with 7:20 left in regulation.
 
Junior forward Taylor Russell led the War Hawks with 12 points, hitting 4-for-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Russell narrowly missed a double-double by pulling down a game-leading nine rebounds, as well.
 
Welch finished the game with 10 points, canning 4-for-11 from the field. Welch also gave off a game-best four assists.
 
Adijatu Disu and Ashley Hesseltine chipped in seven and five points, respectively. Mishae Roper pulled down seven boards and made three steals.
 
The team's leading scorer – Taylor Neal – finally returned to the lineup for the first time in nearly a month after injuring herself at Angelo State on December 2. Neal was rusty in her 26 minutes, with just one basket in six attempts.
 
Trinity and McMurry were fairly even on the glass, with the Tigers holding a slight 40-39 advantage. TU had six blocks.
 
McMurry will play the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in San Antonio on Monday (7 p.m.).