Marshall, Texas - Hendrix erased a 10-point halftime deficit to rally back and defeat Howard Payne (HPU) on Sunday afternoon in the Warriors' final tuneup before conference play.

Trailing 31-21 at the half, the Warriors sprang out of halftime on a 22-6 scoring run to take a 43-37 lead with 1:23 left to play in the third quarter. Ava Knoedl made it 46-40 with a three-pointer to close what was a 25-point quarter for Wes Sullivan's squad.

After Howard Payne's Azaylee Santos opened the fourth quarter with a layup to cut Hendrix's lead to 46-42, Knoedl answered with another three-ball to kick off 8 unanswered points. She buried six free throws down the stretch to keep the Yellow Jackets at bay and lift the Warriors to a 60-50 win.

Knoedl finished with 24 points, one shy of matching her season-high. Riley Brady posted a 10-24 double-double, with her 24 rebounds matching her career-high total that ranks tied for third in program history. Bella Cates recorded 9 points on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Natalie Edmonson produced 8 points and 3 steals in her sixth start of the season.

The Warriors shot 16-for-22 (72.7%) from the stripe and dominated HPU 50-36 on the glass in large part due to Brady and Brailey Forst, who snagged 12 boards. Hendrix scored 18 second chance points and got 17 points off of HPU turnovers, all while getting just 2 points from the bench.

Hendrix (7-6) closes the non-conference schedule with a win and will now turn their eyes towards league play as they host Rhodes on January 8 at Grove Gymnasium in their conference opener.