MARSHALL, Texas – All five East Texas Baptist University starters scored in double figures with two double-doubles as they improved to 5-0 at home over a scrappy Louisiana College team, 78-68. ETBU moves to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the ASC East and now has won three straight games after dropping two over Thanksgiving break.

“It was good to get a win at home but I didn't think we played very well tonight,” says head coach Edsel Hamilton. “We had a lot of critical turnovers and we didn't do what we planned to do very well but we did enough to win.'

For the first time all season, all five of ETBU's starters scored in double digits as April Leonard led the team with 21 points and four assists. Lauren Lee finished second on the team with 14 points and three block shots. Cekret Davis and Taylee Alexander both had double doubles with 13 points each as Davis had six assists and 10 rebounds while Alexander had 12 rebounds. Malaisia Chisholm finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. For Louisiana College, Kortney Kling finished with a team high of 16 points amongst the starters while three players came off the bench and finished in double-figures.

The first quarter was a back and forth affair with neither team gaining more than five point lead. Malaisia Chisholm's three-pointer at the 5:23 mark made it 12-7 in favor of ETBU before a 9-0 run by Louisiana College made it 16-12 with 3:37 to go. April Leonard would then score the last nine points for ETBU in the first including four free-throws to tie the game. Her three-pointer near the end of the first quarter gave ETBU a 21-17 lead.

The second quarter saw ETBU outscore Louisiana College 15-9. After three points by ETBU, LC went on a 8-0 run to take a one point at the 4:36 mark, 25-24. In the final four minutes, ETBU went on a 12-1 run for a 10-point lead at the half, 36-26. Leonard sparked the run with a three-pointer at the 3:05 mark to give ETBU back the lead, 27-25. Ambrosia Woodward followed with a three-pointer 30 seconds later and then Lee put ETBU up by seven, 32-25, with 53 seconds left in the quarter. Alexander banked in a layup just over 30 seconds left and then Davis swooshed two free throws with one second left.

LC pulled within five points, 38-33, with 7:43 to go in the third quarter but that is as close as they would be in that quarter. Leonard gave ETBU an 11-point lead at the 2:22 mark on a fast break lay up, 50-39. With 15 seconds left in the quarter, Davis put ETBU up by 13, 56-43, on another fast break layup off a Chisholm steal. LC did make a shot to end the quarter to come back within 11, 56-45.

The lead barely dipped below double digits in the fourth quarter. Delia Hopkins put the lead at 13, 62-49 with 7:20 left in the game as that was the largest lead of the final quarter. LC did come with seven, once, but came no closer.

ETBU shot just 39 percent but held LC to 36 percent from the floor. From the arc, ETBU made 36 percent but LC couldn't find the net from long distance making just seven percent (1-of-13) from three-point land. ETBU finished shooting 84 percent from the foul line as LC shot 81 percent. ETBU also out rebounded LC, 53-35, but had 29 turnovers.

ETBU hosts Rust College at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in the final game of 2015 before the Christmas break.