ABILENE, Texas – Junior Haley Welch scored a season-high 18 points to lead the McMurry University women's basketball team to an upset win over the No. 24-ranked University of Texas at Dallas, 59-57, at Kimbrell Arena. The win by the War Hawks (3-11) over the nationally-ranked Comets (8-4) also snapped a five-game skid for the hosts.
 
Welch was 6-of-11 from the field shooting, connecting on 4-of-7 from three-point range. Welch was also 2-for-4 from the free throw line and grabbed a pair of rebounds.
 
Senior Taylor Russell added 14 points, hitting double-figure scoring for the 13th-consecutive game (her only single point game was in the season opener, when she tallied six at Wayland Baptist). Russell made a living at the charity stripe, where she hit 8-of-10 from the line. She also had eight rebounds and two assists.
 
Freshman forward Chelsie Lail had another great effort, scoring 13 points. Lail was 6-for-8 from the field and also hauled in four rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
 
Sophomore Sham Hunter was held to five points, but more than made up for it in virtually every other area. Hunter had team-leading totals in rebounds (10), assists (4) and steals (3).
 
Sierra Maykus contributed six rebounds and three steals, and also scored four points. Jamie Flores' three points and two from Amye Templeton rounded out McM's scoring.
 
UTD led after the first quarter, 11-9, but it was a second-quarter surge by McM that gave the War Hawks a slim halftime cushion, 28-27. A three-point basket by Flores with 24 seconds left in the second quarter put McM ahead for good as the teams went into the locker room.
 
McM led by as much as 10 points, 44-34, with 1:41 left in the third quarter when Welch hit the back end of a pair of free throws. The Comets were unable to get closer than three points the rest of the way, until the War Hawks allowed UTD an uncontested basket as the game clock expired for the final 59-57 score.
McMurry will next be in action on Thursday (Jan. 14) when it travels to Sul Ross State University for a 5:30 p.m. game in Alpine.