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Baylie Butler's layup with less than a second remaining on the clock in regulation snapped the Louisiana College Lady Wildcats' recent two-game skid and gave LC a key 75-73 win in conference play over Hardin-Simmons on the road in Abilene, Texas on Saturday afternoon.
 
It was the sophomore guard's only basket of the day, and it could not have come at a better time for Lady Cats, who had to relocate the game to Abilene due to complications with the floor and roof renovations in the H.O. West Fieldhouse.
 
After going into halftime with a 41-36 lead, the Lady Cats came out of the locker room on fire, going on a 20-5 run to start the second half to take their largest lead of the game at the 11:19 mark when they took a 61-46 lead.
 
But the Cowgirls would storm back with an 18-2 run of their own, as a Kayla Brown layup at the 7:39 mark of the second half gave Hardin-Simmons a 64-63 lead and all the momentum back to HSU.
 
HSU would stretch that lead out to five with three minutes remaining in regulation, but back-to-back made jumpers from seniors Danisha Allison and Karylon Thornton, followed by a made free throw from Allison at the 1:38 mark would tie the game at 73-73 and set the stage for Butler's last-second heroics.
 
The Cowgirls had an opportunity to put the game away with less than 20 seconds remaining, but a missed three-pointer from HSU's Lauren Thomas was off the mark, which gave the Lady Cats the opportunity they needed to close things out.
 
Butler, who played only two minutes off the bench during the second, made the most of her opportunity, as her game-winning basket came on her only shot during the final 20 minutes.
 
The LC reserves were the ultimate difference on the afternoon, as the Lady Cats outscored the Cowgirls 33-9 off the bench, led by seniors Karylon Thornton (13 points, 3-3 on three-point field goals) and LaToya Evans (10 points, two rebounds).
 
Seniors Neka Jones (13 points, three assists) and Kaci Willis (11 points, nine rebounds) also reached double figures in scoring for LC.
 
Hardin-Simmons center Taylor Klement led all scorers with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Louisiana College (6-2 overall, 3-2 in ASC play) sits in a three-way tie for third place in the ASC standings behind Texas-Tyler (11-1, 6-1 in ASC) and Texas-Dallas (9-1, 5-1 in ASC).
 
The Lady Cats will remain on the road next week for a two-game Texas road swing against Sul Ross in Alpine on Thursday before taking on traditional ASC power Howard Payne in Brownwood on Saturday.