ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Harris-Stowe State University women's basketball picked up a 55-54 win on Saturday afternoon at Emerson Performance Center against Cottey in the regular season finale. With the win, the Lady Hornets improve to 9-15 on the season and 8-10 in American Midwest Conference play while the Comets fall to 6-21 on the season and 5-13 in AMC play.

The Lady Hornets closed out the regular season with three consecutive wins.

Sophomore guard Alivia Montgomery (Little Rock, Ark./Little Rock Central) cut the Comets lead to 3-2 in the first quarter. A layup from junior forward Janiya Jones (Jackson, Tenn.) tied the game at four. A layup from Montgomery cut the deficit to 8-6. A layup from Jones cut the Comets lead to 10-8. Two free throws from sophomore forward Tyara Davis (Kansas City, Kan./Blue Valley North) cut the deficit to 12-10. Two free throws from Montgomery cut the deficit to 15-12. A layup from senior guard Cailynn Dilosa (Gary, Ind./Merriville) and a buzzer beating layup from Davis cut the deficit to 17-16 after one quarter of play.

The Comets opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 24-16. A layup from Montgomery cut the deficit to 24-18. Two free throws from Jones cut the deficit to 26-20. A jumper from Jones cut the deficit to 30-22 going into the half.

A layup from senior forward J'Lessa Jordan (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) cut the deficit to 30-24 early in the third quarter. Two free throws from Jones cut the deficit to 32-26. Two free throws from Jones and a jumper from Jordan cut the deficit to 34-30. A jumper from Jordan, an old-fashioned three point play from Montgomery and a steal and layup from Dilosa turned a 36-30 deficit into a 37-36 lead for the Lady Hornets. A three from Montgomery gave the Lady Hornets a 40-37 lead with 1:52 left in the third quarter. A layup from Montgomery extended the lead to 42-39. A layup from Montgomery gave the Lady Hornets a 44-41 lead before the Comets cut it to 44-43 going into the fourth quarter.

Layups from Jones and Dilosa extended the lead to 48-43 early in the fourth. A jumper from Montgomery and a free throw from Davis extended the lead to 51-47 with 4:48 remaining. A 5-0 Comets run gave them a 52-51 lead. A jumper from Montgomery put the Lady Hornets ahead 53-52 with 2:25 to play. Montgomery would sink two free throws to give the Lady Hornets a 55-54 lead. The Lady Hornets would make a defensive stance over the final 35 seconds to escape with a win.

Montgomery led the way with 24 points while Jones added 14. Davis and senior forward Marchi Hunter (Menifee, Calif./Vista del Lago) recorded six rebounds each. Davis would record two assists. Jordan would record three blocks and three steals.

The Lady Hornets went 20-50 (40.0%) from the field, 1-8 (12.5%) from three and 14-17 (82.4%) from the free throw line. 

The Lady Hornets return to action on Thursday, February 26th at 5:15 pm against second-seeded Williams Baptist in the AMC Tournament Quarterfinal.