LONGVIEW, Texas – Dominating the paint with a defensive presence, East Texas Baptist University took a 30+ point win over LeTourneau University in their final American Southwest Conference meeting in Solheim Arena, 74-42. ETBU scored 46 points in the paint and held LETU to 25 percent shooting, recording eight blocks with 11 steals. ETBU is now 17-4 and 4-0 in the ASC.
 
Kadia Ward led the team with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor with four rebounds and three assists. Payton Hicks followed with 11 points and four rebounds. Macey Jones added nine points with three blocks, while Madison Hurta and Hannah Matthews had eight points. Tiffany Bickford finished with nine rebounds.
 
ETBU connected on 46 percent of their shots from the floor, making 25 percent from the arc and 58 percent from the line. LETU shot 25 percent, made only three three-pointers (20 percent), and shot 61 percent from the stripe. ETBU outrebounded LETU, 41-33.
 
A slow first quarter saw ETBU with a six-point lead, 13-7. LETU shot 14 percent, making two shots from the floor. ETBU had a one-point lead, 4-3, at 4:28, but then went on a 7-0 run in three minutes for an eight-point advantage, 11-3. LETU hit two free throws with 35 seconds left to come within six, 13-7.
 
The second quarter warmed up for ETBU, which scored 18 points and shot 50 percent. Matthews gave ETBU a 10-point lead, 17-7, at 7:51, and by 3:54, the Tigers were up 14 points, 25-11, on a Sara Cowan layup. LETU had the lead down to nine, 27-18, with a minute to go, but a Jayla Hall jumper and two free throws from Hurta put the halftime lead at 13, 31-18.
 
In the third quarter, ETBU outscored LETU, 22-12, to move their lead to 20+ points. ETBU had a 14-point lead, 34-20, at 8:32, but by the 7:27 mark, it was 20 points on a Hicks three-pointer, 40-20, on a 6-0 run. ETBU kept the lead in the 20s for most of the quarter as Cowan put the Tigers up by 24 points, 51-27, with 29 seconds left, and had a 24-point lead as the quarter expired, 53-29.
 
Another 20+ point quarter by ETBU in the fourth pushed the lead to 30 points. Matthews had a layup at 9:08 for a 27-point lead, 57-30, and Hall gave ETBU their first 30-point lead, 64-34, at 5:28 on a layup. Marley Keith canned a three-pointer at 2:37 for a 31-point advantage, and Anna Beamesderfer hit a three-pointer with 1:19 to play for the 74-42 win.
 
ETBU will play again on Thursday, February 6, at 5:30 p.m. in Brownwood, Texas, against Howard Payne University.