Southwestern University downs Mary Hardin-Baylor after overcoming halftime deficit and holding off late rally
With only one senior on their roster it would have been no big surprise for panic to set in after Southwestern fell behind by ten points early in the second half. Instead the Pirates kept their composure, battled back, and eventually held off a late Mary Hardin-Baylor rally for a 57-53 win in Georgetown Saturday afternoon.
Southwestern University (2-0) found themselves down by five points at the end of the first half and then saw the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusader lead grow to ten early in the second half. This is when Southwestern Head Coach Pam Ruder saw just how well her young team responds to a little adversity.
After falling behind by as much as 10 points Southwestern battled their way back to tie the score up at 39-39 with just over 10 minutes to go in the game. "The second half was certainly better than the first half. Really it was a hard fought battle between two teams that were very aggressive," said Ruder.
That aggressive play not only equal a tie score after falling behind by 10, it led to Southwestern eventually building an eight point lead of their own. The Pirates used an intense defensive effort to spark their offense as they grabbed some key rebounds and converted some big baskets down the stretch.
"I thought it really came down to getting a couple of really big stops," said Ruder. "We changed defenses on them and I think that slowed them down somewhat and then anytime you can get a missed shot and rebound it gives you a better opportunity to advance the ball and look in transition and I think that was the difference."
Mary Hardin-Baylor made a run of their own with a couple of minutes to go in the game and fought back to within two points with eight-seconds to go in the game. The Crusaders then decided to foul Jennifer Tindle and make the Pirates hit their free throws. Tindle couldn't convert but Natasha Azizi was able to pull down the offensive rebound preventing Mary Hardin-Baylor from getting a shot at tying the game.
It would take a Staley Mullins offensive rebound of yet another missed Pirated free-throw before the crowd could breathe a final sigh of relief. Mullins was fouled and sank both free-throws to secure the 57-53 win for Southwestern. Mullins rebound was her ninth rebound of the game which led all Pirates on the night.
Even though the Pirates were out rebounded in the contest, they pulled down some key rebounds as they battled back to take the lead and those were a big part of pulling out the win. "We were out rebounded for the game but within that run we got stops and scores," said Ruder.
"It's early in the season, it's a nice win and I am very pleased with our performance tonight," she added.
Score by periods 1st 2nd
MHB 27 26
SWU 22 35
Team Leaders
Southwestern:
Natasha Azizi - 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Jennifer Tindle - 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Staley Mullins - 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks
Mary Hardin-Baylor:
Caitlin Barganier: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Landie Thompson - 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks
Mallory McAdams - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
