ABILENE, Texas - A second-half comeback bid by the McMurry University women's basketball team fell short in a 69-60 non-conference loss to Texas Lutheran University at Kimbrell Arena. The War Hawks overall record fell to 3-6, while the Bulldogs improved to 6-2 on the year.
 
McMurry started out fast by building a six-point lead after one quarter. Mackenzie Kimball's jumper in the final seconds of the period made it 11-5.  However, TLU bounced back in the second quarter and out-scored the War Hawks 23-9 in the segment, taking a 28-20 lead into the halftime locker room.
 
But the resilient McM team came charging back in the third quarter. Midway through the stanza, McM trailed by 10 points, 37-27. But from that juncture, McMurry would go on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes - thanks to a pair of baskets from Kimball, four free throws from Sham Hunter and one charity toss from Haley Welch – to draw within a single point, 37-36.
 
TLU would close the third quarter leading 44-39. In the fourth, the Bulldogs extended their advantage to 18 points (63-45) with 2:33 to play, before McM cut into the deficit for the final 69-60 score.
 
Kimball was McM's top scorer with 14 points. Kimball hit 7-of-16 from the field off the bench and also snared six rebounds and had one blocked shot.
 
Hunter narrowly missed back-to-back double-double games with nine points and nine rebounds. She also topped all players with five assists and three steals.
 
Another of McM's bench players – Kaymee Howell – added eight points in 12 minutes of work. Welch and London Weilert each booked seven points, with Welch grabbing five boards.  Sarah Doherty had five points and Rhiana Jones four.
 
Skyler Reyna and Amye Templeton each chipped in three points to round out McM's scorers. Reyna pulled down six rebounds.
 
TLU held a distinct advantage from the free throw line, converting 28-of-44 attempts. Conversely, McMurry was 14-of-20 from the free throw stripe.
 
The Bulldogs held a 50-43 margin on rebounds, helping it to a 30-22 scoring difference for points in the paint. McMurry's bench scoring was a 34-26 tally in favor of the hosts.
 
The same two teams will face each other again on Tuesday (3 p.m.), with the site switching to Seguin for the rematch.