Bria Neal (10) led HPU with 18 points in Saturday’s loss to ETBU. [Photo by Derrick Stuckly]
In what marked their first official American Southwest Conference basketball game of the season, the Howard Payne Lady Jackets shaved an 18-point deficit down to a single bucket but could not complete the comeback as the undefeated East Texas Baptist Lady Tigers prevailed with a 69-63 victory Saturday afternoon at the Brownwood Coliseum.
The loss halted a three-game win streak for the Lady Jackets (3-4, 0-1), while East Texas Baptist – under the direction of head coach Blake Arbogast, a former Yellow Jacket, and assisted by Jordan Young, an ex-Yellow Jacket player and assistant men’s coach – improved to 14-0 overall and 6-0 against league foes.