BELTON, Texas - Women's hoops made a valiant second-half comeback attempt Thursday night but were outlasted 92-81 by Mary Hardin-Baylor.

"I'm very proud of our heart and hustle tonight," said head coach Katie Novak. "We shared the ball really well and never gave up. As a coach, I can't ask for anything more. They are a tough team and we battled until the end."

First Quarter
UMHB opened with a jumper that soon became a 2-2 tie after a basket from Cassie Hogan. The Crusaders then went on to lead by as many as nine in the first. Down 13-4, the Lobos went on a 10-1 run for a 14-14 tie with just under a minute left. Keona Loftis and Alexis Carmosino hit back-to-back triples before Marley Rokas sank a jumper for the equalizer. UMHB scored five of the final eight in the quarter to lead 19-17 after one.

Second Quarter
Hogan answered a Cru jumper with a pair of baskets for a 21-21 score early in the second. UMHB scored the next five and later upped it to a 34-24 advantage. Sully continued to fight back, finishing the half on a 9-5 answer in which Caitlyn Corley started with a triple before Hogan later sank a jumper. The final two buckets for the Lobos, including the final of the half, were two jumpers from Alyssa Ramlochan for a 39-33 Cru lead at the break.

Third Quarter
The Lobos again found themselves down double digits and again fought back. Trailing 46-35, Corley and Alexis Carmosino first hit back-to-back jumpers. Carmosino then hit another for a 6-0 run to trail 46-41. The Crusaders were able to up their lead back to 15 twice, but a 12-5  Sully run to finish the third made it 66-58. The final five of the quarter came from the Lobos with three from Rokas and two from Loftis.

Fourth Quarter
Sully's run continued into the fourth with a 6-0 start. Rokas and Carmosino provided jumpers to go with two free throws from Loftis to cut it to 66-64. It remained close until UMHB upped it back to as many as 11 with under four minutes left. The Lobos did not go down without a fight, using jumpers from Ashley Nunez, Hogan and Loftis to make it 85-80 with just over a minute left. Then Continually sent to the line, the Cru converted seven of their final eight free throws to outlast the Lobos in a 92-81 final.

Stats
Carmosino finished with team-high 17 points and game-best 11 rebounds. She also had four assists and two steals.

Loftis, Hogan and Rokas each had 15 points on the night.

Hogan added seven rebounds, a team-high five assists and game-high four steals.

Rokas supplied five rebounds and four assists.

The Lobos fall to 6-7 on the season and 2-6 in conference. UMHB improves to 10-2 and 7-0.

Sully next takes on Concordia in Austin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 8.