A late second half surge by the Henderson State Women's Basketball team ensured them a perfect 2-0 record in the 2011 Henderson State Alumni Classic as they sailed past the University of Texas-Permian Basin (UTPB), 80-59, on Saturday afternoon at the Duke Wells Center.

The game was closely contested early on in the first half with four tied scores and a lead change within the first six minutes of the game. The Lady Reddies (7-1) went ahead on a conventional 3-point play by Krystal Beachum with 13:55 left in the opening half and held the lead for the remainder of the period, taking an eight-point lead, 38-30, to the locker room.

Play in the second half quickly became a back-and-forth affair as the Lady Falcons (6-4) immediately went on a 6-0 run to open the half and cut the Lady Reddies' lead to two, 38-36. After Destiny Smith put the Lady Reddies back up by four following her pair of made free throws, UTPB went on another mini run, this one a 5-0 run to give them their first lead since the opening bucket of the game.

The lead change came with 16:21 remaining in the game. Two minutes of the game clock ticked off before the next basket was made, and it came from HSU's Joycelyn Taylor to give the Lady Reddies back the lead. The two teams would swap leads eight times over the next five minutes of game time.

The final lead change of the game would come with 9:15 left in the game as Taylor sunk a mid-range jumper, giving HSU a 52-51 lead. After taking the lead, the Lady Reddies would begin to pull away and did so quickly. An ensuing 10-1 run was highlighted by back-to-back treys by junior guard Sheay Longstaff.

The Lady Reddies would run their lead out to 14 points soon after riding the wave of six consecutive points in the paint from senior forward Crystal Harrison. The offensive explosion provided by Longstaff and Harrison in that stretch proved to be too much for the Lady Falcons to overcome as the Lady Reddies' lead continued to grow as the game wore on.

At the final horn, the Lady Reddies were up by their largest margin of 21 points, 80-59. The late surge by HSU resulted in a 28-8 run over the final 9:15 of the game, en route to securing their third straight victory and seventh overall.

Five Lady Reddies scored in double figures in the game. Taylor led the way with 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting (53 percent). Beachum and Harrison each added 13 points. All of Longstaff's field goals came from beyond the arch as she poured in 12 points (4-of-10 from field, 4-of-9 from 3-point). Smith recorded the lone double-double in the game as she scored 11 points and pulled down 10 boards (4 offensive, 6 defensive).

As a team, the Lady Reddies only committed nine turnovers, but forced 19 on the defensive end of the ball.

The Lady Reddies will now go into a lengthy layover from playing over the upcoming Christmas Break. The next time they will be in action will be Thursday, December 29th against the same Texas-Permian Basin squad they played this afternoon. Tip-off for that game is set for 7:00 p.m.