Photo, story courtesy of HPUSports.com
The Howard Payne University women’s basketball used a dominant 2nd half to beat LeTourneau 80-57 on Saturday at the Brownwood Coliseum.
The Lady Jackets had a great start as they opened up on a 12-4 run to take the lead in the 1st quarter. The HPU defense was stellar in the 1st half as they forced 17 turnovers and only allowed 17 points in 20 minutes. Kiara Green and Aja Holmes racked up two steals apiece to help Howard Payne head into the break with a 25-17 lead.
HPU came out of the break stinging as Aja Holmes scored seven points alone in the first 3:27 of the 2nd half. The Lady Jackets kept their foot on the gas pedal outscoring LeTourneau 23-14 in the 3rd quarter to stretch their lead to 17 points. The bench played a huge role in the dominant 2nd half adding 41 points. Taysie Trejo, Kiara Green, and Trynadee Greenwell combined for 29 points off the bench. The Lady Jackets were able to defeat LeTourneau in dominant fashion 80-57.
The Lady Jackets won the battle on the glass 34-33 including ten offensive rebounds. HPU hounded LeTourneau all afternoon forcing 24 turnovers that resulted in 14 points.
Howard Payne shot 35.8% (24-67) from the field while nailing eight treys as well. Letourneau finished 33.3% (20-60) from the field.
HPU was led by Aja Holmes who notched 16 points and six rebounds. Tyra Oliver trailed behind scoring 11 points along with Taysie Trejo adding ten as well. Kiara Green rounded out the four double-digit scorers for the Lady Jackets scoring ten points.
The Lady Jackets will host Sul Ross State on senior day in their final game of the 2023-24 season next Saturday with tip-off set for 1:00 PM.