MARSHALL, Texas – An impressive double-double total and a 26-point effort helped the Millsaps women's basketball team overpower Howard Payne University, 63-51 and ring in the New Year victorious inside the Ornelas Gymnasium on Friday.
Millsaps (11-1) was powered by junior Elyse Warren's ninth double-double of the season behind 15 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. The Majors competed in the opening game of the ETBU Tiger Classic, which is being hosted by East Texas Baptist University.
Senior Haley Franklin was outstanding as well with 26 points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.
Both senior Taylor Frank (season-high six rebounds, one steal) and sophomore Garin Freeman fired home six points each. Freeman added four rebounds, four assists and tied a season-high with four steals.
Howard Payne (4-11) outshot the Majors 36 percent (18-for-50) to 32.8 percent (19-for-58) from the floor. However, Millsaps controlled the paint (30-6) and second-chance points (19-7).
The Yellow Jackets kept the game close with a 37.5 percent efficiency (9-of-24) from three-point range, but the Majors outscored Howard Payne at the free-throw line, 23-6.
With 6:41 remaining until halftime, Warren's post move and layup would give Millsaps their first double-digit advantage of the contest.
Falling behind 30-18, HPU would see Franklin knock down a jumper before Frank added another layup for the Majors with 2:32 to go.
Junior Lexus Keyes and Freeman both played a huge factor on the court, scoring a pair of free throws each before the second-quarter buzzer. Millsaps raced ahead, 34-18 at intermission.
Seniors Whitney Novak and Emily Adams began the third quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to continue the Millsaps momentum.
The lead would grow to 20 points for Millsaps before sophomore Tia Anderson (eight rebounds, one steal) netted a layup to close out the third quarter, with the Majors ahead of the Yellow Jackets, 51-33.
In the final quarter, Millsaps would continue to dominate on both sides of the court.
Moments later, Frank would continue to stop the Yellow Jackets with the first pair of Major points courtesy of a made layup.
Down 61-46, the Yellow Jackets further struggled finding their rhythm on offense as Franklin would pose a threat on defense by collecting a steal outside the paint.
The Majors' defensive playmaking abilities would not stop as Anderson and Keyes both accumulated a pair of steals with under two minutes to go.
Anderson closed out the game for the Majors with a defensive rebound to help the team excel past HPU, 63-51 on Friday.
Millsaps will be back in action against classic host ETBU, beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The matchup should prove exciting as the Tigers are currently receiving votes in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 25 Poll.
Live video and live stats will be available at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps College women's basketball program follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.
