ABILENE, Texas – Trailing by seven points at halftime, the McMurry women's basketball team kept their deficit in single digits before taking a fourth quarter lead en route to a thrilling 60-58 over Texas Lutheran in Seguin, Texas on Friday evening.
The War Hawks (3-1) were locked in a gritty fourth quarter battle, breaking a 46-46 tie with 7:22 to go in the game. Texas Lutheran (0-4) remained within two possessions the entire rest of the way, but McMurry clinged to its lead until the buzzer.
With 10 seconds remaining, freshman guard Taya Bridges sank a pair of free throws to extend McMurry's lead to 60-55. A TLU three-pointer with four ticks remaining made it a two-point game again, but an offensive rebound by senior Skyler Reyna on a missed McM free throw ultimately iced the game.
Reyna dominated the contest with a game-high 23 points and 19 rebounds, earning her second straight double-double. Adding another element to her game Friday, the senior finished 8-17 (47 percent) from the field and went 5-10 (50 percent) from behind the arc. She played 38 minutes.
Reyna now has 10 double-doubles in the last 13 games dating back to last season. Furthermore, her 19 rebounds matched a career high, which she previously set twice against Sul Ross State in her sophomore and junior seasons.
Freshman forward Trinity Meador was the team's second leading scorer with eight points, six of which came on two important three-pointers in the third quarter. Her two triples, paired with a couple of threes from Reyna, swung momentum and allowed McMurry to remain in the contest despite trailing by as many as nine points.
Bridges and junior guard Francheska Aguino added seven points for the cause, while Aguino and sophomore Brittany Rodgers had three assists each.
McMurry now owns a 25-10 lead in the all-time series with TLU, picking up their first road win in Seguin since the 2011 season.
The War Hawks will look to end their two-game road swing with another season sweep on Saturday, as they head to Kerrville, Texas to face Schreiner University. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
