Box Score

Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist University women's basketball team played stingy defense down the stretch to propel them to a 80-78 opening night victory over Henderson State. With the win, SBU improves to 1-0 on the season while Henderson State drops to 0-1.

The contest was tight throughout, as neither team led by double-digits at any point in the contest, with the Bearcats taking an early 8-3 lead off of strong post presence from Mackenzie Skupa and Caylee Richardson. The Bearcats led for a majority of the first quarter, and a Megan Rosenbohm layup with 3:55 left in the quarter pushed their lead back to eight at 14-6. After Henderson State cut the lead to four, Dilonna Johnson nailed a big three to give SBU a 20-13 lead after one quarter of play. SBU opened up the second quarter with a pair of free throws by Richardson to give the Bearcats their largest lead of the game (22-13), but HSU wouldn't back down. The Reddies used a 6-0 run to keep in the contest, and after a jumper by Morgan Henderson pushed the SBU lead to six (29-23), HSU responded with an 8-0 to put SBU down 31-29. However the Bearcats bounced right back with a three, a pair of free throw's, and another three, all by Johnson, to regain the lead at 37-31 with 1:05 left in the quarter. Free throws rounded out the scoring to close the quarter, as the Bearcats went into the break leading 38-34.

SBU continued to hold a small lead throughout the opening three minutes of the third quarter, consistently hitting big buckets in response to HSU baskets. After Henderson State re-took the lead with 4:42 left in the quarter (49-47), Ashlee Pitts went down a drained a three to quickly put the Bearcats back on top. Four lead changes would occur over the final four minutes of the quarter, and a free throw from Johnson gave SBU a 56-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Henderson State opened up the final quarter with a 10-4 run to gain their largest lead of the game (65-60) with 7:07 remaining. SBU once again bounced back, using a 9-0 run to take a 69-65 lead. The Bearcats continued to hold a lead for the remainder of the contest, with a strong defensive effort down the stretch, as they took a 80-75 lead with 4 seconds remaining. HSU hit a three-point buzzer shot, but the game had already been decided as SBU came away with the 80-78 victory.

The Bearcats were led in scoring by Dilonna Johnson who posted 20 points, while Megan Rosenbohm had 18 points to go along with 4 steals and strong pressure defense down the stretch. Newcomer Caylee Richardson narrowly missed a double-double with 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Mackenzie Skupa also chipped in 9 points and 6 rebounds. As a team, SBU shot 45.2% from the field, 42.1% from beyond the arc, and 61.5% from the free throw line.

SBU will return to action on Saturday, November 14 when they host Ouachita Baptist. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.