ABILENE, Texas – Senior forward
Taylor Russell had a double-double of 12 rebounds and a career-high 26 points, but it was not enough as the McMurry University women's basketball team fell in its home opener versus the University of the Southwest, 74-68, at Kimbrell Arena.
Russell was 6-of-14 from the floor, but made her mark from the free throw stripe by going a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe. She also hit her only three-point attempt, to go along with a pair of assists and three steals.
Fellow senior
Sierra Maykus also had a solid scoring night with 18 points, connecting on 6-for-17 from the floor and 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. Maykus hit 4-of-6 free throws. She also pulled down five rebounds and had two assists.
Sophomore transfer
Sham Hunter – a transfer to McM this season – continued to shine, as well, in her first season as a War Hawk. The former Abilene High School Eagle tallied nine points, seven rebounds and three assists. Freshman guard
Alex McIntosh also had a balanced night with seven points and eight rebounds before fouling out.
The Mustangs (3-3) outrebounded McMurry by a 43-39 margin, shooting 39 percent (23-59) from the floor as a team. McM hit 33 percent (20-60) of its shots. Both team shot 28 free throws, with McM making a total of 23, buoyed by Russell's efforts.
On area where the War Hawks improved dramatically from its season opener at Wayland Baptist last week was in turnovers. Versus WBU, McMurry turned the ball over 29 times, but lowered that statistic to just 13 miscues in the bout with the Mustangs.
USW led 19-17 after the first quarter – with each team matching those figures in the second – as the Mustangs took a 38-34 advantage into the halftime locker room. The third quarter was McMurry's undoing as it was out-paced on the scoreboard, 19-14, to trail 57-48.
McM trailed by as many as 12 points – 63-51 – with 7:24 left to play. But the War Hawks began to chip away at the deficit and out-scored the Mustangs 13-4 over the next five minutes, narrowing the margin to 67-64 after a steal by Russell and subsequent fast break layup by Maykus. But McMurry was able to get no closer and USW held off the hosts down the stretch.
The War Hawks will next be in action on Sunday (Nov. 29) at 2 p.m. versus Centenary University as the front end of a women's-men's doubleheader that afternoon.
