ABILENE, Texas – Junior
Sham Hunter had a monster game for McMurry University women's basketball, defeating Belhaven University, 61-55, at Kimbrell Arena. The win improved the War Hawks to 3-5, while the Blazers fell to 3-4 overall.
Hunter finished with a double-double, after hitting 8-of-16 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line on her way to a 20-point scoring effort. Hunter also tracked down 17 rebounds (12 on the defensive end). She narrowly missed a triple-double by passing off for eight assists in her 37 minutes of court time.
Senior guard
Haley Welch booked 14 points, going 6-of-16 from the floor. She was McM's only other player to score in double digits.
Skyler Reyna chipped in eight points and
Isabel Carrion six.
Mackenzie Kimball had four points and seven rebounds.
Amye Templeton,
London Weilert and
Kaymee Howell each had three points. Weilert and Reyna had six and five boards, respectively.
The two teams locked horns in a tight first quarter, with BU managing to hold a slight lead most of the period. However, with the scored tied 10-10, Kimball nailed a jumper in the paint to put the War Hawks on top to close out the first quarter and give her team a lead it would hold until late in the game.
Howell drained a trey to open the second stanza, as McM began to extend its cushion. The War Hawks led by as much as eight before heading into the locker room with a four-point bulge, 27-23.
McMurry inched further ahead in the third quarter. At the 3:26 mark, McM had its largest lead – 11 points – when a jumper by Hunter made it 41-30. McM finished the third with a 43-38 advantage. The War Hawks maintained that 11-point lead, 54-43, with 6:02 left to play.
However, the Blazers would make a late charge. BU went on an 11-0 run over the next five minutes to knot matters at 54-54 with 1:06 to play. A layup by Welch and a pair of Carrion free throws gave McM some breathing room in the waning seconds.
McMurry will host Texas Lutheran University on Saturday (1 p.m.) in a non-conference bout.
