BOX SCORE

Abilene, Texas – Jasmine Lewis scored 20 points and hit three clutch free throws in the last 40 seconds of regulation as first-place Hardin-Simmons escaped with a 63-60 win over Concordia University Texas on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Mabee Complex in a thrilling American Southwest Conference women's basketball matchup that featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes. The Cowboys maintained their first-place position with the victory, while the Tornados will head into the final week of the regular season in a tie for fourth place with Mary Hardin-Baylor for the final playoff spot.

Christen McLee found Lashanda Luckey for a fastbreak layup which gave the Tornados a 56-55 advantage with 2:23 remaining in regulation, but the Cowgirls got a 3-pointer from Whitney Enis on their next possession just 12 seconds later to regain the lead in the seesaw affair. Alex O'Neal and Margaret Milling, however, put the Tornados back in it as each hit the back end of two free throws to tie the game for the 12th time at 58-all.

After Lindsey Newcombe netted a layup to put the Cowgirls up by two, Tiesha Martin had a chance to put Concordia ahead when she slashed down the left side and made a layup while drawing a foul. But Martin's free throw for the conventional three-point play that could have put the Tornados ahead by one missed. Concordia had several chances on the same possession to take the lead, but two offensive rebounds by Singleton and another by Martin would not result in Tornado points.

Lewis, who grabbed the rebound off a missed layup by Milling, was fouled in transition at midcourt and made two free throws on the other end to make it 62-60 in favor of the hosts with 40 seconds left. After Brianna Smith missed a three and Singleton's layup was no good following a Martin steal, Lewis made one of two free throws to give Hardin-Simmons a 63-60 advantage with 13 ticks remaining.

Concordia played with the opportunity to put up the last shot and force overtime. Coming out of a timeout, Mayberry started to drive in down the left side in the waning seconds. After she was stopped by several Cowgirl defenders, the pass came out to Smith. The sophomore pump faked at the top of the key and moved to her left to get a better look, but time expired right before she was able to get off a shot that could have forced an extra session.

The Tornados were ahead for a good portion of the first half, which only featured two ties and one lead change. A 3-pointer by O'Neal gave the visitors their first lead of the ballgame, 12-10, with 9:45 left to go in the opening frame. A two-point lead for Concordia grew to six at the half thanks to a good layup by Martin and a running jumper by Mayberry before the horn went off.

Smith led three Concordia players who scored in double figures with 11 points. Martin and Mayberry added 10 points apiece, while Martin also finished with seven boards and four steals and Mayberry added four assists. Alexis Popelar netted a team-high 24 points for Hardin-Simmons (17-5, ASC 14-5) and was on fire from downtown, hitting six of her nine attempts. Lewis scored her 20 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field and 7-for-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Lindsey Newcombe posted 12 points and 21 rebounds.

With postseason implications still on the line, Concordia (12-10, ASC 11-8) will host Texas Lutheran on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. and Schreiner on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 1:00 p.m. Based on all of the possible scenarios and tiebreakers, the Tornados will likely need to get one more victory than Mary Hardin-Baylor in the final week of regular-season play to earn their first ASC Tournament bid since 2005.