MARSHALL, TX—On Saturday, March 8th, at ETBU's Ornelas Gymnasium, McMurry (22-5) and SCAC champion Texas Lutheran (24-4) met for the third time this season in the DIII Women's Basketball Tournament. McMurry had won the previous two matchups earlier in the season.

Texas Lutheran took the tip-off and jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. The War Hawks would claw their way back into the game, closing Texas Lutheran's lead to one with five minutes remaining in the quarter, with six points from Helana Chadwick. With her first points of the game, Emily Holland passed the 1,500-point barrier. The two teams would trade jabs down the stretch of the first quarter, with both teams playing tight defense until a Karrigan Parrott layup at the close of the quarter put McMurry up 20-19.

Both teams would clamp down and limit the scoring through the first five minutes of the second quarter until McMurry opened up a seven-point lead on back-to-back three-pointers from Emily Holland. Texas Lutheran would chip at the lead but never get closer than within four points the remainder of the half. To close out the scoring for the War Hawks would be Kylie Flippin driving to the basket and drawing fouls while making her effort, and the added free throws would lead McMurry into the half with a 37-30 lead.

Texas Lutheran would open up the second half with four quick points to cut into McMurry's lead before Ashton Garner would knock down a three-pointer to hold the War Hawks lead. Early in the third quarter, Helana Chadwick drew her fourth personal foul, limiting her time on the court. Texas Lutheran would then take control with a 13-5 run to grab the lead towards the end of the quarter. In the closing minutes, McMurry would fight to keep the score close. In the final seconds, Texas Lutheran, on a rebound by Jordan Gillespie, would commit a Technical foul, leading to Emily Holland sinking two free throws to end the third quarter even at 51-51.

Kylie Flippin would open the scoring for McMurry in the fourth quarter, knocking down a three-pointer. Subsequently, Texas Lutheran would tie the game back up before Emily Holland, on consecutive possessions, collected defensive fouls, allowing her to go 4-4 on her free shots and keeping her perfect from the free throw line. Helana Chadwick and Jordan Gillespie would foul out in the back half of the quarter, but the War Hawks wouldn't let it deter them from playing tight and stingy defense. Karrigan Parrot, continuing the defensive stand in the closing two minutes, would draw a foul on Texas Lutheran, leading to a turnover for McMurry to gain possession and never look back. In the final seconds of the game, Texas Lutheran worked to find an open three-pointer, but a clutch block by Aryana Cleveland, followed immediately by Kylie Flippin contesting Texas Lutheran's final three-point attempt, ended with Cleveland grabbing the defensive rebound as time ran out.

"I thought our team just fought." Said head coach Drew Long. "It wasn't pretty all the time, but they made plays when we needed to on both ends of the floor." Long added, "For them to be able to tough it out and grit it out like that and get a road win or neutral site win was huge not only for them but for the program and the school."

McMurry advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season to face #5 ranked Gustavus Adolphus (28-1) of Saint Peter, Minnesota, at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, this Friday, March 14, at 4:00 p.m. (CDT).

To stream the game and view live stats at the time of the game, visit the following link: Gust. Adolphus vs McMurry DIII Women's Basketball Game Summary - March 14th, 2025 | NCAA.com