SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College women's basketball team used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Southwestern in a 66-52 win on Saturday, picking up a critical victory to bolster the team's hopes of securing a spot in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The 'Roos are now 7-15 overall and 6-8 in conference play, and currently hold the sixth seed in the conference postseason.

The 'Roos struggled to put the ball in the basket early, hitting 30.8% in the first quarter compared to a 54.5% clip for the Pirates as they fell behind 15-11 after the first quarter. Austin College hit just 29.4% in the second period, but held Southwestern to 3-of-10 shooting as they closed the gap to 25-24 heading into halftime. Southwestern went on top 34-28 early in the third quarter, but the 'Roos started to chip away at the margin with Lexi Martin scoring, followed by a three from Grace Moothart to cut it to 35-33 with 4:45 left. Lexi Martin put the 'Roos ahead 37-36, and after Southwestern took the lead back, Brooklyn Matthews scored to make it 40-38 heading into the final period. 

Austin College opened the final quarter with a 16-3 run to surge ahead 56-41 and never looked back, as the Pirates never managed to get the margin back into single digits the rest of the way. The 'Roos hit 69.2% from the field in the fourth, with Amarys Cuellar, Martin, and Moothart combining to score 22 points in the last 10 minutes of action. Martin and Moothart each had 16 points to pace the 'Roos and Cuellar finished with 15, and Martin added six rebounds while Moothart had five boards, four steals, and three assists. Moothart made 6-of-8 shot attempts, and Martin hit 7-of-12 in the game. Naomi Anamekwe grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for Austin College. Ellie Ward led Southwestern with 15 points.

The 'Roos will be back in action at home on Tuesday against Arlington Baptist, before celebrating Senior Day against the University of Dallas next Saturday at 5:00 p.m.