McMurry University's Lady War Hawks beat University of Texas-Dallas 81-69 Saturday, Dec. 16 in Kimbrell Arena to stay near the top of the American Southwest Conference standings.
 

In a game of scoring spurts, sophomore guard Kylie Flippin (Wichita Falls, Texas) had the game's first six points and coach Drew Long's team led 11-4 with less than five minutes left in the first quarter. Ahead 16-10 at the end of the stanza, McMurry started the second quarter on a 7-2 run, the opponent scored the next six points and then the hosts countered with a 11-1 run. The opponent then had an 8-2 run, and the halftime score was 36-27 in favor of McMurry.
 

Both teams, which entered the contest right behind conference leader Mary Hardin-Baylor, kept throwing punches at each other in the third quarter, but no one expected the firestorm of points that was about to come.
 

With 1.3 seconds left in the third stanza, junior guard/forward Emily Holland (Mansfield, Texas) nailed a long-range three-pointer and was fouled in the process. After she made the foul shot, McMurry led 57-49 at the end of the quarter. Holland's bomb was a precursor to the teams scoring a combined 44 points in the final stanza.
 

The Lady War Hawks were ahead 61-56 with under six minutes in the game. From that point, the contest became a test of who could both score and defend exceptionally well under pressure. Every time McMurry made or attempted a basket, the opponent quickly got down to its end of the floor and answered. At the 1:32 mark in the fourth quarter, the Lady War Hawks were up 75-64, but 27 seconds later the score was 76-69.
 

Clutch free-throw shooting created the cushion McMurry needed for the hard-fought victory.

Holland finished with 30 points, Flippin added 24 and sophomore guard Helana Chadwick (La Vernia, Texas) had 13. Flippin made 12 of 13 free throws, Holland was 9 of 10 and Chadwick was 5 of 7. McMurry had eight three-pointers, including five in the first half. Holland had seven rebounds, one on offense and six on defense, and Flippin had six, one on offense and five on defense. The Lady War Hawks stole the ball 11 times with senior guard/forward Taya Bridges (Mesquite, Texas) having four thefts.
 

The Maroon and White had its biggest lead of 15 points with over three minutes left in the first half.
 

McMurry, 8-1 overall and 4-0 in conference, stays home to play University of the Ozarks at 3 p.m. Monday.