Hot Shooting Leads 'Roo Women Past Hendrix

SHERMAN, Texas – Kacie West and Ann Savage combined to go 9-of-13 from beyond the arc and the Austin College women's basketball team got 43 points off the bench on their way to an 81-66 victory over visiting Hendrix College on Saturday afternoon in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 1-1 overall this season with the victory.

The 'Roos jumped out to a 7-0 lead early and a pair of threes from West pushed it to a 16-6 game with 2:40 left in the opening quarter. West would add a third triple in the quarter to make it 23-12 before the Warriors scored four in a row to make it 23-16 after one. Hendrix got it down to six points but treys from Savage and Caitlyn Collins pushed it to a 33-20 margin with 6:11 left before halftime.

The three-point barrage continued with Savage making another trey, and Bryce Frank got in on the action with her first career three to make it a 43-28 advantage. The lead grew to 47-30 on a jumper by Tiffany Litton, but once again it'd be Hendrix ending the half with four quick points to make it 47-34 at the break.

In the second half, the Warriors started chipping away at the margin thanks to a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of Leah Smith triples to make it 47-44, but Austin College responded with a run of its own as the 'Roos scored the next 12 to go on top 59-44 with 2:37 left in the third. A three from Savage made it 64-47 before six quick points from the Warriors, but West would snag an offensive rebound and beat the buzzer for two more points to make it 66-53 heading into the fourth.

Both teams struggled to get any points on the board early in the fourth, with neither team a field goal until a basket by West made it 71-55 with 3:41 left in the game. Hendrix twice got the margin down to 12 but that's as close as things would get, with a jumper by Addy Walling with under a minute left icing the game and making it an 81-66 final.

West came off the bench to score 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, hitting all four of her three point attempts. Savage hit 5-of-9 from deep on her way to 19 points and added six rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Walling chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals and Frank came up just short of a double-double, scoring nine points to go with 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots.

Smith led Hendrix with 15 points and Heather Prowse and Madison Martin each chipped in 14 for the Warriors, who shot just 36.5% from the field, compared to 45.8% from the floor for Austin College.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.