ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Women's Basketball waited a long time to taste victory this season, but made the most of a stingy defensive effort in a 65-54 win over Sul Ross State inside Kimbrell Arena on Saturday morning.
The War Hawks (1-13, 1-9) held its opponent to 54 points – the fewest points allowed all season – while blocking six shots and grabbing eight steals en route to victory. McMurry took the lead 23 seconds into the contest and never trailed in the contest.
The Lobos, who won the previous two matchups against McMurry, fell to 7-11 overall and 5-4 in the American Southwest Conference.
McMurry jumped to a hot start, getting the crowd involved early with a 7-0 run in the first 1:22 of the game. Back-to-back scores from sophomore Valery Alvarado and a triple by junior Aubrey Guerra on the first three possessions made up the run.
In the first quarter, McMurry held Sul Ross to just 1-11 shooting and four points total. The offense picked up a bit as time went on, as McMurry remained ahead by double-digits through the midway point. SRSU closed the gap to seven at 46-39 early in the fourth quarter, but the War Hawks proved to be too much and were seemingly never in danger of losing the lead.
Sophomore Destiny Mathews was a dominant force in the win, totaling a season-high 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the double-double. She fell one point short of a career-high, which she also set against Sul Ross last season.
Mathews finished 10-16 shooting and 3-3 from the free throw line, using her craftiness in the paint to drop in points. Meanwhile, Mathews added 11 rebounds – 10 defensive – four assists, two steals and a block in 34 minutes.
Guerra and Alvarado combined for 22 points out of the backcourt, while freshman forward Kylee Smith added 10 rebounds for the squad. Freshman Jada Morris also contributed quality minutes, scoring eight points on 4-4 shooting in just seven minutes of action.
As a team, McMurry shot 27-55 from the floor (49.1) while holding Sully to just 18-54 (33.3).
The War Hawks hope to work their way back into the race for an ASC Championship Tournament seed with two home games this week against UT Dallas (Feb. 18) and Ozarks (Feb. 20).
