McMurry University's Lady War Hawks continued to instill confidence in themselves with a 74-61 win over University of the Ozarks Monday, Dec. 18 in Kimbrell Arena.
Sophomore guard Kylie Flippin (Wichita Falls, Texas) led the charge with 21 points, followed by junior guard/forward Emily Holland (Mansfield, Texas) with 13 and sophomore forward/center Aryana Cleveland (San Antonio, Texas) with 12.
Cleveland recorded a double-double as she also finished with 12 rebounds, three on offense and nine on defense. Other top rebounders were Holland with seven, one on offense and six on defense, sophomore guard Helana Chadwick (La Vernia, Texas) with six, all on defense, and Flippin with five, also all on defense. Holland had three of the team's nine steals and Flippin made four of nine three-pointers. Senior guard/forward Taya Bridges (Mesquite, Texas) and Holland each blocked a shot.
McMurry won every quarter, 14-13, 17-11, 26-16, except the fourth, which the opponent won 21-17. Coach Drew Long's team had its biggest lead at 19 points with 30 seconds left in the third stanza. Free throws continued to be a strong suit for the Lady War Hawks as they converted 16 of 20 attempts. Bridges was 4 of 5, Flippin and Holland were both 3 of 4, sophomore forward/center Tori Colman (Fort Worth, Texas) and Cleveland were both 2 of 2, Chadwick was 1 of 1 and junior post Ashton Garner (Odessa, Texas) was 1 of 2.
The Lady War Hawks improved to 9-1 on the season, 5-0 in the American Southwest Conference, and 7-0 at home.
McMurry hosts George Fox University from Oregon at noon Wednesday. The opponent is from Newberg, a half-hour southwest of Portland, competes in the Northwest Conference, and won the Division 3 national title in 2009. The head coach is in her first year guiding the program. She was a starter on George Fox' 2014-15 team that won 32 games in a row before losing in the national title game. She led the team in six statistical categories that season. The school, which doesn't have any Texas players, is on a two-game Texas swing as it plays Hardin-Simmons University Tuesday.
