RICHARDSON, Texas – Paced by double-double games from both Skyler Reyna and Savannah Johnson, the McMurry University women's basketball team notched a 78-64 win over Manchester (Ind.) University in the opening game of the UT Dallas Courtyard Classic. The War Hawks (3-9) had to battle back from a seven-point halftime deficit to top the Spartans (2-7).
 
McMurry trailed by three points, 17-14, after one quarter and was down 31-24 at the intermission. But the War Hawks came out on fire in the second half, tallying 27 points in the third period to overtake the Spartans, 51-47, and pulled away with 27 more in the fourth.
 
"Before the game we talked about playing through the grind of our Christmas break," McM Head Coach Brittany Densman-Roes explained. "We talked about ow no team ad an 'advantage' going in. It was going to be the team that played with the most grit through the tiredness (that was going to win).
 
"I thought we did a great job in finding ourselves in the second half by executing well and sharing the ball. It was a great team win."
 
No player loomed larger for McM during that fourth quarter barrage than diminutive senior guard Dominique Machuca. The 5-foot-2 Machuca scored all nine of her points in the game – on a trio of three balls – prior to the fourth quarter media timeout, as the War Hawks opened up a 60-52 cushion with 6:04 left to play.
 
That, combined with the efforts of Reyna and Johnson helped McMurry win for the second time in its last three games. The junior Reyna registered her sixth double-double game of the season – and the 24th of her McM career – by booking game-high totals of both 19 points and 12 rebounds. Reyna was 8-for-16 from the floor, also dishing off a game-leading four assists and three steals. She had one block, as well.
 
In contributing 15 points and 10 rebounds off the McMurry bench, the freshman Johnson picked up the first double-double game of her brief collegiate career. Johnson also hit 50 percent from the field (6-12) and made a pair of steals.
 
Junior guard Isabel Carrion was the third McM player to score in double figures with 17 points. Carrion shot a blistering 70 percent (7-10) from the field and was 3-for-4 from the free throw line. She also had four rebounds, two assists, a block and three steals on her ledger.
 
Junior guard London Weilert – a local product from Wylie High School – had a nice all-around game. Weilert contributed in virtually every area with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in her 27 minutes on the court.
 
The War Hawks were dominating on the glass, out-rebounding the Spartans, 47-31. It was also the first time that McM has held a rebounding advantage over a foe this season and its largest rebound differential since the squad defeated Howard Payne at home last season.
 
The War Hawks will be looking for a second-consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m.) versus Covenant (Ga.) College in their second game to close out the UTD Classic.