MARSHALL, Texas – Overcoming a rocky start in the first half, the East Texas Baptist University women's basketball team rallied back with 42 points in the second half for the come-from-behind victory over Concordia University, 57-52. ETBU is now 17-6 overall and 11-3 in the American Southwest Conference East Division.
 
Kendrick Clark was the lone Tiger to score in double figures with 19 points while Kim Childress (four rebounds) and Missie Kilo would finish with nine points each. Amanda Wilson tallied seven points. For CTX, Havyn Perez tallied 12 points while Kaycie Dunkerley finished with 11 points.
 
ETBU finished outshooting the Tornadoes, 44.4%-35.3%, from the field. While CTX finished with the three-point edge (42.3%-41.7%), ETBU would make 70.6% from the free throw line. ETBU's game in the paint would hold an edge, 24-12, while the Tornadoes outplayed ETBU with their bench points (23-17) and points off turnovers (14-8).
 
After Wilson started the game with the first basket (9:43), CTX would grab control with a 10-3 run (9:43-5:13) to lead 10-5. Only two points from Clark (8:20) and a free throw by Anna Moss (6:26) were what ETBU could respond with in the stretch. Childress would knock down a jumper (1:35) to cut the lead to 10-7 before CTX ended the quarter with a three to put them up 13-7.
 
Extending their lead to 16-8 (7:40), CTX watched Wilson (7:21) and Clark (6:43) score five unanswered points to trail 16-13. But from that point on until the end of the quarter, the Tornadoes would surge to their first double-digit lead (4:09) at 23-13. A pair of free throws improved the lead to 12 before Clark would score a layup with twenty seconds left in the quarter to trail, 25-15.
 
Sparked by a 10-0 run (10:00-6:37) to begin the third quarter, ETBU would tie the score at 25 with Clark scoring half of the points (8:43, 7:06) in the stretch. But the Tornadoes would counter with a 10-0 run (6:17-2:29) of their own. Clark would cut the lead in half on her own (2:01-0:47) at 35-30. Yet, the deficit grew to eight after CTX converted a buzzer-beater to end the quarter up 40-32.
 
The Tigers would not back down in the fourth quarter as an 8-2 run (10:00-6:43), including four points from Tatyana Lacey (7:37-6:43), put them within two, 42-40. Even though CTX went back up by eight (48-40; 5:43) with a pair of threes, the Tigers never lost momentum as they would finish outscoring the Tornadoes 17-4. A 10-2 surge (5:24-3:17) knotted the score at 50 as ETBU got baskets by Taylor Singleton (4:56), Clark (4:19), Kilo (3:58), and Lacey (3:17). With 1:03 left, Kilo delivered the go-ahead three-pointer, 53-50. While CTX got within one, 53-52 with 32 seconds to go, Childress would knock down four free throws in the final moments to preserve the victory.
 
ETBU will host Belhaven University at 5:30 PM on Thursday in Ornelas Gym.