Williams, Eagles storm out to big lead, hold on to beat HTU

Kayla Williams scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Thursday to help A&M-Texarkana hold off Huston-Tillotson, 75-71, in an entertaining RRAC contest at the Patterson Center. The Eagles (10-10 overall, 7-7 RRAC) snapped a four-game losing streak and pulled even with the Rams (9-7, 7-7) and North American to force a three-way tie for fourth in the conference.

The Eagles exploded out of the gate, building a 24-2 lead in the opening quarter and ending the first 10 minutes with a 26-8 lead. Williams and Quren Santiago each had 11 points in the first period, during which the hosts shot a scorching 76.9 percent. Williams made 13-of-17 shots in the game, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Santiago went 3-of-6 from deep and dished out five assists, helping the Eagles shoot 52.9 percent from the field (27-of-51).

Dyana Offutt led HTU with 17 points and Ariana Smith tossed in 11 to go with six rebounds and six assists. Jaslyn Woods had 10 points for the Eagles and Delfina Misuina added eight points and seven boards.

The Eagles led 42-23 at the half but were outscored 48-33 in the second half. Hutson-Tillotson never led in the contest.