Lady Hawks lose to Mississippi College in season opener

CLINTON, Miss. – The Huntingdon women's basketball team battled Mississippi College in Friday's season opener, but the Lady Choctaws pulled away and took the win.

Mississippi College opened up a five-point game in the second half to win 81-67 in the Zaxby's Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Senior Morgan Crawford led Huntingdon (0-1) with 28 points, 10 steals, five assists, four rebounds and a blocked shot. The points and steals are career highs for Crawford as a Huntingdon player.

Katie Martin added 12 points for the Lady Hawks and Tanjanik Munford and Jodi Thomas both had five rebounds.

Huntingdon fell behind by 15 points in the first half but rallied to make it a 36-28 game at the half. A 3-pointer by Martin made it a 38-33 game in the first two minutes of the second half. Huntingdon remained within striking distance until midway through the second half.

Leading 48-43 with 12:41 to play in the game, Mississippi College (1-0) began a 23-6 run and took a 22-point lead with 7:13 to play. Huntingdon rallied to within 10 points twice in the final five minutes but could not overtake the Lady Choctaws.

Huntingdon plays Howard Payne on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the final day of the tournament.