Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks women's basketball team couldn't hold on to a 29-25 halftime lead as Mary Hardin-Baylor slipped past the Lady Eagles 73-66 Thursday evening in American Southwest Conference play.
Ozarks (7-5, 3-5 ASC) marched out to a 19-12 lead with 9:13 remaining in the first half. Ozarks then got its largest lead of the half when Ally Goddard hit a jumper to put the Lady Eagles ahead by nine points with 8:30 left. The Crusaders (8-3, 5-2 ASC) made a run to trim it to 21-20 at the 6:53 mark, and then took the lead on their next possession. April Young hit a long shot to give Ozarks the lead back, and Chelsea Glasscock nailed one from long range to give Ozarks a four-point advantage at the half. Glasscock fueled Ozarks in the first half with three three-pointers and 11 points.
The Lady Eagles controlled the opening minutes of the second half behind points from four different players. Ozarks picked up its biggest lead of the game, 46-36, after Sabrina Goddard completed a three-point play with 13:43 left. Following an Ally Goddard three-pointer with 8:47 remaining, the Lady Eagles went up 57-48. But the Crusaders held Ozarks scoreless over the next five minutes to regain a 64-57 advantage. Ozarks would close the gap to three-points twice in the final three minutes, including making it 67-64 with 50 seconds left. Mary Hardin-Baylor scored five seconds later on a layup to build a five-point cushion.
Young hit four three-pointers to lead Ozarks with 14 points. Glasscock finished with 13 points, while Sabrina Goddard added 12 points.
Ozarks will travel to Austin, Texas, to face Concordia University Texas Saturday.
Topics: Athletics