The Austin College women's basketball team jumped out to a big lead early on but had to hold off Hendrix late to earn a 57-54 win on Thursday evening in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 3-4 overall this season with the victory.
The 'Roos sprinted out to a 13-0 lead to open the game, having their way in the paint to get five quick buckets and adding at three pointer from Erin Riley before the Warriors finally got on the board with a pair of free throws with 15:13 left in the opening half. The lead grew to 17-3 on a jumper from Riley before Hendrix started to chip away, trimming the margin to 22-12 with 9:11 remaining before the break.
Another Riley three pushed it back to a 27-15 game with 4:55 left, but the Warriors would use a 12-2 run to close out the half and head into the locker room trailing just 29-27. The Warriors capped off their comeback with a basket to open the second half and square things at 29, but Austin College got five points from Christina Kime and Kendall Heitmeier knocked down a three to push it to a 41-31 game with 14:06 to play.
Cait Kriesel-Bigler hit a three to pull the Warriors to within three at 44-41 with just over nine minutes left, but Riley answered with two more threes and Heitmeier drilled another trey of her own to make it 53-43 with 5:56 on the clock. However, Kriesel-Bigler capped off another run by Hendrix with a three to cut it to a 55-54 game with 43 seconds left. Hendrix got the ball back down one and drew a foul with just two seconds left, but couldn't knock down a free throw, allowing Austin College to escape with the 57-54 win.
Riley hit 7-of-14 overall and four threes on her way to 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and two steals to lead the 'Roos and Heitmeier came off the bench to score 10 points and grab four boards. Brittany Stepanski added eight points and eight boards, and Brooke melton had six points, eight boards, three assists, and three blocks.
Kriesel-Bigler had 15 to lead the Warriors, while Jamie Tate scored 10 and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds in the loss.
Austin College is back in action once more before the holidays, taking on Oglethorpe University at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Hughey Gym.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
About Austin College
Austin College is a leading national independent residential liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.