BELTON, Texas – Leading at halftime by three, East Texas Baptist University came up shy of a win over McMurry University, 67-56, at the UMHB Christmas Classic. ETBU is now 8-2 on the year and faces no. 2 Wartburg College on Wednesday.
 
Jayla Hall went 5-of-8 from the floor for 12 points with five rebounds. Madison Hurta added 10 points, shooting .500 from the floor. Payton Hicks then had seven points, eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Hannah Ayala also scored seven points and five rebounds.
 
ETBU shot 33 percent overall but made 42 percent in the third quarter, canned 31 percent of their three-pointers, and was 10-of-15 from the line (66 percent). McMurry finished shooting 45 percent, 41 percent from the arc, and 62 percent from the stripe. ETBU outrebounded McM, 44-34, but had 20 turnovers.
 
Hurta hit a three-pointer at 8:19 in the first quarter for a 5-1 lead. McMurry tied the game at seven with six minutes to go and went on a 5-2 run for a three-point lead by 2:44. Hall cut the lead to one, 14-13, on a jumper at 1:33 but McM scored the final four points for a five-point lead, 18-13.
 
ETBU outscored McMurry, 17-9, in the second quarter, taking a three-point halftime lead, 30-27. McM shot just 26 percent in the quarter as ETBU made 46 percent from the floor. The Warhawks hit the first shot in the quarter for an eight-point lead, 21-13. For the next three minutes, neither team made a shot. Hall sparked a 12-2 run over two minutes to take back the lead, 25-23. Tristan Smith hit a three-pointer at 4:23 for the lead as Tiffany Bickford had five points in the run. McM tied the game at 27 with 1:43 left, but Ayala hit a three-pointer with eight seconds left for the three-point advantage, 30-27.
 
McM shot 66 percent in the third quarter to pull away from ETBU, scoring 26 points. ETBU tried to keep pace, making 42 percent of their shots, but fell behind 53-47 at the end of the quarter. ETBU was within one, 35-34, on a Matthews jumper at 6:31, but McM had an eight-point lead, 43-35, at 5:02. ETBU came no closer than three the rest of the quarter.
 
Scoring only nine points in the final quarter, ETBU came up short of the comeback, shooting just 15 percent from the floor. McM took a 10-point lead, 59-49, at 5:53 with their largest lead of 12 a minute later. ETBU came within seven with under a minute to go, but McM hit free throws to take the win.
 
ETBU will face no. 2 Wartburg College at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday in Belton.