BOX SCORE

Austin, Texas – Tiesha Martin scored 16 points and Shamika Singleton registered her ninth double-double of the season in leading the Concordia University Texas women's basketball team to a 73-69 victory in a pivotal American Southwest Conference matchup on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Concordia Field House. The Tornados almost led from wire-to-wire and moved into a tie for second place with the Yellow Jackets by winning for the ninth time in their last 11 outings.

After Margaret Milling hit two free throws for the game's first points, Howard Payne took its only lead of the ballgame on a 3-pointer by Tiffany Warner which made it 3-2 at the 19:03 mark of the first half. The only advantage the visitors gained in the game was short-lived, as Singleton put back a missed jumper by Martin less than 20 seconds later on the next play to give the Tornados a lead they would not surrender.

Kayla Scott made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 8-8 at the 14:26 mark, but that was as close as the Yellow Jackets would come the rest of the way. Concordia's deep bench came through once again and used a 12-3 run to build the lead up to double figures at the 6:19 mark, which was capped by Christen McLee's free throw. The Tornados closed out the half by scoring nine of the frame's last 11 points by getting five free throws from Skylar Lott, a trey from Dominique Mayberry and a layup by Milling that just beat the buzzer.

Howard Payne (14-7, ASC 11-6), which trailed 39-23 at the break, opened the second half of an 11-2 run to close the gap to single digits and get back into the game. Jasmin Thomas sank a 3-pointer and capped the stretch with a layup to make it 41-34 before the first media timeout.

Concordia, however, ended the attempted rally by going inside to Martin and Singleton and getting to the free throw line. The Tornados, who shot 81.8 percent from the charity stripe in the game and 15-for-16 in the second half, got a pair of free throws from Martin and McLee as well as four more from Lott to take a commanding 53-36 advantage at the 12:12 mark.

Howard Payne did not go down easy and was able to bring the deficit all the way down to one at 60-59 with 3:51 left when Thomas sank a free throw following a trifecta from Brittany Roberson. Consecutive three-point field goals by Thomas and Abby Parmelly made it a 68-67 affair with 1:11 left, but the Tornados stayed hot at the free throw line by making five of their six attempts in the last minute to escape with the win.

Martin's 16 points came on 6-for-8 shooting from the field while going 4-for-5 at the free throw line, while Singleton accumulated another double-double by scoring 15 points and corralling a career-best 15 rebounds to lead Concordia. Lott fell just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Thomas paced three Howard Payne players in double figures with 16 points off the bench. Roberson finished with 12 points and four assists, while Sarah Pfiester posted 10 points and five boards.

Concordia (12-8, ASC 11-6), which remains in a position to make its first ASC Tournament appearance since the 2004-05 season, will trek to Abilene for its final road trip of the regular season next week. The Tornados will first face McMurry on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m.