ABILENE, Texas – The McMurry University women's basketball team sent its players home for the Christmas break with a 71-64 non-conference win over Northern New Mexico College, at Kimbrell Arena.  The win upped the War Hawks' record to 4-7 overall, while the Eagles fell to 6-10 on the year.
 
McM controlled the contest from the outset, except for a brief hiccup in the second quarter when NNMC held the lead for 59 seconds.  The War Hawks led for 36:13 minutes - with the contest being tied for 2:30 minutes – and held a two-possession advantage for much of the time.
 
The Eagles' last stand came with just 4:33 left to play in the fourth quarter, knotting the game at 61-61. But a steal and layup by Sham Hunter gave McM the 63-61 upper hand and it never relinquished the lead again.
 
The War Hawks were never able to quite shake the Eagles, thanks largely to NNMC's three-point shooting. NNMC hit 9-of-24 from long range (38 percent) and connected on 41 percent (24-58) overall from the floor.  Conversely, McM shot 30 percent from the field (22-74), but was 82 percent (22-of-27) from the free throw line.
 
The War Hawks also dominated on the glass, led by Skyler Reyna.  Reyna had 15 boards, helping McMurry to a 57-35 rebounding advantage as a team and accounting for an 18-7 McM cushion in second-chance points.
 
Reyna would finish the game with a double-double by also booking 14 points.
 
McM senior Haley Welch had a game-high 22 points, going 5-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Welch also grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Hunter narrowly missed another double-double, scoring 11 points and corralling nine caroms. Hunter also had five assists and two steals.
 
Sophomore transfer Mackenzie Kimball came off the War Hawks' bench to tally eight points and pull down six boards.  Freshman Madison Davis also had six rebounds, while both Davis and Kimball had a blocked shot, as well.