BELTON, Texas – The Concordia Texas women's basketball team played a strong second half, closing the gap on first-half deficit, but were unable to complete the comeback effort, ultimately falling 66-59 to Mary Hardin-Baylor on Monday.
 
The Tornados outscored the Cru 34-29 in the second half, including an 11-0 run in the final three minutes, but it was not enough to erase the deficit left from the first half of play.
 
Erin Toro was the Tornados' leading scorer with 13 points on the night. The graduate senior did a lot of her work at the free throw line, shooting 5-of-6 from the stripe, and she recorded an assist and a steal on the defensive end.
 
The first quarter went the way of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and despite a pair of three-pointers from Kennedy Donovan, the Tornados found themselves trailing 23-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Tornados opened the second quarter with a 9-1 run as Havyn Perez, Toro, and Zakari Perry each knocked down free throws and Falyn Taylor connected behind the arc, bringing the score to 24-22 with 4:27 remaining in the half.
 
The Cru answered with a run of their own, extending their lead back out to double-digits by the end of the period, and the Tornados trailed 37-25 at the halfway point.
 
In the third quarter, two free throws from Allie Garza with 5:10 on the clock sparked a 12-1 run behind two three-balls from Mikayla Johnson. With 2:20 remaining in the third quarter, the Tornados had cut the UMHB lead to single digits with the score at 46-39.
 
After another bucket from Toro, the third quarter ended with the score at 50-41 in favor of the Cru.
 
Despite a pair of three-pointers from Natalie Velardez and Johnson, the Cru extended their lead back out to 66-48 with 3:06 left to play in the final quarter. From here, the Tornados' offense found life, ending the game on an 11-0 stretch behind more long-range baskets from Velardez and Johnson along with a pair of buckets from Toro and Perez. However, the Tornados ran out of time, and ultimately fell short 66-59.
 
Johnson ended the contest with 11 points and two assists, shooting an efficient 3-of-6 from deep, and Velardez posted eight points and five rebounds on 3-of-4 from the field.
 
The Tornados will look to bounce back when they return home on Thursday, hosting ASC foe Howard Payne for a 5:30 p.m. tip in Concordia Fieldhouse.