GEORGETOWN, Texas – A furious fourth quarter rally propelled the McMurry University women's basketball team to a 65-54 non-conference road win at Southwestern University.  The 2016 calendar-year finale victory saw the War Hawks improve to 5-7 overall, while the Pirates will enter the new year with a 3-8 mark.
 
McM led after both the first quarter, 11-10, and at the half, 24-19.  However, the Bucs fought back in the third quarter, out-scoring the War Hawks 21-14 in the segment and grabbing a 40-38 advantage entering the final 10 minutes.
 
But the visiting McMurry ladies opened the final quarter on fire.  McM out-dueled the Pirates, 8-0, in the first half of the period and took a 47-40 lead it would not relinquish. Freshman Britney Beaver was the spark plug of the final period, scoring all nine of her points in that segment.
 
Beaver connected on 4-of-5 shots from the field, including one from beyond the arc.
 
Meanwhile, it was another typically-productive day at the office for junior guard Sham Hunter.  For the second time this season, Hunter missed the elusive triple-double by just two assists.  She buried the Pirates with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while making three steals just for good measure.
 
Senior teammate Haley Welch shared team high-point honors with Hunter at 13.  Welch was only 2-for-11 from the floor, but made a living at the free throw stripe where she was 8-of-10.  She also grabbed six rebounds.
 
Skyler Reyna came off of the McM bench to contribute 10 points as the team's third double-figure scorer. Reyna went 3-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. She also pulled down seven rebounds and had a block in her 28 minutes of work.
 
Freshman guard Isabel Carrion corralled eight boards to go along with her five points and two blocks. Kaymee Howell added seven points (with a pair of treys), London Weilert five and Sarah Doherty three, to round out McM's scoring.
 
McMurry will travel to the University of Texas at Dallas next Thursday (Jan. 5) for a women's-men's American Southwest Conference doubleheader.