FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University women's basketball team (3-3) took a hard fought 63-56 loss to NCAA DIII East Texas Baptist University (4-0) at the Sid Richardson Center on Monday.
 
The Tigers used 12 different players to power past the Lady Rams late in the second half as East Texas Baptist showed how deep the NCAA can be.
 
The energetic Tigers opened up the contest with a 7-0 rally and kept a decent margin, leading by eight at 12-4 midway through the opening quarter. The Lady Rams dug in and tightened up the defense, holding the Tigers to just two points the rest of the opening frame and cut the lead to 14-8 to head into the second.
 
Texas Wesleyan tacked on an 11-0 run to start the second quarter, taking a 19-14 lead capped by a Courtney Chargois jumper. The Tigers found a burst right before the half though, and a Kaitlyn Packett triple put ETBU on top 23-21. Delana Lopez tied the game with a lay-in, and Chargois hit a free throw before the half to take a 24-21 lead into the break.
 
East Texas Baptist quickly regained the lead to start the second half, but the Lady Rams matched their opponent shot for shot to keep the game within reach. Threats put in a jumper to give the Rams a 40-38 lead, but again the Tigers answered with a Morgan Garrett three-pointer to gain a 41-40 lead to end the third quarter.
 
The Tigers' deep bench kept the five on the floor fresh throughout the entire game, and it showed in the fourth quarter. The Tigers took a six-point, 48-43 lead two minutes in the final frame. They ran that lead to nine before Texas Wesleyan cut the lead to three at 57-54 with a Taylor Hooks slashing layup with just over a minute to go. That would be as close as the home team would get though, and the Tigers hit enough free throws to close out the game at 63-56.
 
Threats led the charge with a double-double performance of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Leila Jdily-Ezzad posted 10 points and six assists, five steals, and four rebounds in an all-around effort. Chargois tacked on nine points. Lopez grabbed 14 rebounds.
 
The Lady Rams will go to Denton, TX to take on Texas Woman's University on Monday, November 30 starting at 6:00 pm