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The Louisiana College women's basketball team carried their current winning streak to five straight on Saturday afternoon, as they handled Mary Hardin-Baylor by a final score of 68-56 in the H.O. West Fieldhouse to keep their firm grasp of third place in the American Southwest Conference standings.

The Lady Wildcats battled off a physical UMHB team, as nearly the entire starting lineup for LC found herself in foul trouble at some point during the afternoon.

LC struggled from the field in the first half, making just 12 of their 38 shot attempts (31.6%) in the first 20 minutes, but masked that by going a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line and forcing 13 Lady Crusader turnovers, which resulted in a 10-2 first half advantage for the Lady Cats in fast break points.

LC closed the first half out strong, as a 24-22 UMHB lead at the 4:20 mark was quickly erased by a game-tying layup from Kaci Willis just 13 seconds later.

The Lady Cats would go on a 14-5 run the rest of the way out to take a 38-29 advantage into the locker room, highlighted by a last second three-pointer by Willis from way beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded.

LC appeared to be on the verge of pulling away in the second half, as senior guard Karylon Thornton and Willis both hit layups on back-to-back possessions to give the Lady Cats a 49-37 lead at the 14:35 mark.

But that lead quickly evaporated, as UMHB went on a 17-3 run over the next seven-plus minutes to take a 54-52 lead on a three-pointer by Kourtney Beavers at the 7:01 mark.

Knowing that her team needed her to provide an offensive spark, senior guard Neka Jones took over from that point, scoring seven of LC's next 10 points to give them a 63-56 lead with 4:15 left on the clock.  

UMHB would not get any closer than that the rest of the way, as the Lady Cats did not allow the Lady Crusaders to score a single point over the final four minutes of regulation to pull away for the 68-56 win.

Jones led LC with 18 points and four assists to go along with three steals while fellow senior Willis had another outstanding day, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and three steals.

Danisha Allison was the third Lady Wildcat in double figures, as she finished with 12 points and six rebounds despite playing just 17 minutes due to foul trouble.
Louisiana College (13-4, 10-4 in ASC) remains in sole possession of third place in the ASC standings behind UT-Tyler (19-1, 14-1) and UT-Dallas (16-3, 12-2).

The Lady Cats will have an opportunity to climb closer to UT-Dallas in the standings on Thursday, as they travel to face the Comets in a 5:30 p.m. showdown in Richardson, Texas.