PORTALES, N.M. (Dec. 17, 2022) – Behind a season high from Sadie Moyer and Scout Huffman's first career double-double, the Texas Woman's basketball secured their third win in Lone Star Conference play on Saturday afternoon.
 
TWU (8-1, 3-0) remain undefeated in conference action after their 64-62 win over Eastern New Mexico (5-4, 2-2) on the road on Saturday.
 
Despite facing adversities throughout the game, the Pioneers found ways to score with various lineups and hold onto the win in Portales.
 
The Pioneers started the game off strong, closing the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take an early 18-10 lead.
 
An offensive rebound and put-back by Ariyanna Hines electrified TWU's bench as the last basket of the first quarter and gave TWU energy heading into the second.
 
Ashley Ingram kept the energy going into the second quarter, as she scored a layup to increase the Pioneers' lead to 10.
 
After TWU's lead was cut to six with five minutes left in the quarter, both teams went on scoring drought for a minute. Then, Brielle Woods broke the scoreless streak with a made three pointer at the 4:17 mark.
 
Following Woods' three, the Pioneers would look for scoring but would not find a basket until 54 seconds left in the half. Jada Celsur threaded the needle with a clean pass to Huffman to give the Pioneers a six-point lead heading into the halftime break.
 
Out of the break, the Pioneers were outscored by the Greyhounds in the third quarter 18-14.
 
ENMU cut TWU's lead to one point at the five-minute mark, before a made free throw by Jordan Jackson and back-to-back three pointers by Moyer pushed the Pioneers back up by six.
 
At 1:43 in the third quarter, Jackson stole the ball from the Greyhounds and pushed ahead. Moyer was fouled on the drive and her two made free throws gave the Pioneers a seven-point lead.
 
Nevertheless, to close the third quarter, the Greyhounds went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to two heading into the final quarter of action.
 
To start the fourth, the Pioneers only missed two field goals in the first three minutes of play and made four field goals by three different players. A jumper by Ingram, a layup by Moyer, a jumper by Huffman and a three pointer by Moyer kept the Pioneers in front by five points.
 
A 6-2 run by the Greyhounds cut the lead to just one point with four minutes left in the game.
In the final minutes of action, TWU stayed calm under pressure. Even when the Pioneers went down by one point for the first time in the game with 2:30 left on the clock, they immediately answered the deficit to go back up by one point on a layup from Ingram.
 
With eight seconds left on the clock, the Greyhounds scored a layup and tied the game at 62. Although the time seemed to expire, the Pioneers had eight seconds left to find the game winner. After taking a timeout and advancing the ball, ENMU opted to foul Ingram.
 
Ingram, with ice in her veins, hit both free throws to give the Pioneers the two-point lead.
 
Then, the Greyhounds took a timeout and advanced the ball with five seconds remaining. TWU had a foul to give, and they took it, leaving two seconds on the clock.
 
While the Greyhounds did have a look, they missed after solid defense by Moyer forced ENMU into a difficult shot that rimmed in-and-out.
 
TWU would secure the low-scoring win in Portales, 64-62.
 
The Pioneers were led by Moyer who finished with a season-high 24 points. Ingram added 15 points and five rebounds in the win, while Huffman, who recorded 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, finished with her first career double-double.
 
Moyer also hit a season-high four three pointers on her way to 24 points this afternoon.
 
TWU won the rebound battle, 40-36, with three Pioneers grabbing two offensive rebounds: Hines, Huffman and Grace Lowery. Lowery's two offensive rebounds came at crucial moments in the game, as she positively impacted play.
 
"We faced some adversity today, but I liked how we responded positively down the stretch," TWU Head Coach Beth Jillson said. "We had players stepping up and making hustle plays when the ball was not finding the basket. Those moments made a huge impact and helped us win the game."
 
TWU will be back in action at Western New Mexico on Monday, Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m.