AUSTIN, Texas – Kaycie Dunkerley tied her career-high with seven made 3-pointers, producing a season-high 23 points to lead the Concordia Texas women's basketball team to their second win in a row, defeating Howard Payne 86-71 on Thursday inside Concordia Fieldhouse.

Coming off their best team shooting performance of the season last Saturday against McMurry, the Tornados remained hot offensively, shooting 49 percent from the field. Concordia Texas made it count especially from behind the arc, shooting 16-of-29 from 3-point land.

In the opening quarter, the Tornados and Yellow Jackets started slow with the first basket registered at 8:00 mark after Alyssa Marquez knocked down a 3-pointer off a Sam Hopper assist. Her and Natalie Velardez each recorded six points in the quarter as CTX led 19-15 after one.

In the second quarter, Madi Maxwell and Payton Berger came alive offensively, scoring seven points and six points, respectively. The Tornados took their largest lead of the half after one of Berger's four made 3-pointers on the night, before HPU used a late run to cut the deficit to 37-36 as the teams headed to the locker room.

In the following quarter, Dunkerley and CTX found their shooting stroke, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from behind the arc to outscore the Yellow Jackets 28-19. Dunkerley had nine points in the period as the Tornados took a double-digit lead into the final frame.

Concordia Texas distanced themselves from the Yellow Jackets in the final quarter, using an 11-2 run to take their largest lead of the night at 78-61 after Dunkerley's seventh made 3-pointer of the game.

The Tornados never let HPU back into the game, cruising to a wire-to-wire 86-71 victory and moving solely into third place in the American Southwest Conference West Division standings.

Five Tornados finished the game in double figures led by Dunkerley's 23 points. Velardez nearly finished with a double-double, shooting 6-of-8 from the field for 14 points along with a team-high seven boards.

Maxwell and Berger each produced 12 points on the night, while Marquez registered three made 3-pointers, totaling 11 points in her first start of the season. Hayvn Perez, meanwhile, dished out a team-high five assists along with seven points.

Next, CTX will host Sul Ross State in their final home game of the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside Concordia Fieldhouse. Postgame, the Tornados will celebrate its four seniors, Marquez, Berger, Dunkerley and LeAnn Stephens.