WAXAHACHIE, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University women's basketball team (2-0) held off a tough St. Thomas-Houston (0-2) in a 68-61 win in the first day of the SAGU Classic on Friday.
 
The Rams busted the game open with a 6-0 rally capped by an Onyesonam Nolisa jumper in the paint. Delana Lopez hit a three to make it a 9-2 game. The Celts cut the lead to 14-11, but the Texas Wesleyan offense had no trouble scoring and Courtney Chargois put in two points before the end of the opening quarter to take a 21-13 advantage.
 
Taylor Hooks made it a 14-point lead on a Taylor Hooks with a layup to make it 29-15 with 5:17 remaining in the half. The Wesleyan Rams maintained the big league and took a 39-25 lead into halftime.
 
The Rams put on an offensive show in the first half, shooting 47 percent from the field and outscoring their opponent 10-2 in the paint.
 
The Celts slowly clawed their way back into the game, cutting the lead to 43-39 with a three-pointer from Taylor Forrest. St. Thomas-Houston continued their run, knocking the lead down to a two-point, 43-41 deficit. Wesleyan kept scoring and ended the third quarter with a 4-0 rally capped by a Katelynn Threats two-pointer to make it a 48-41 game.
 
The Rams got back to their scoring ways and Chargois hit a jumper in the lane to extend the lead to 55-45 with six minutes left in the game. St. Thomas rallied again to cut the lead to 57-54 on a Taylor Mitchell two-point shot. That was the closest the Celts would get as the Wesleyan offense could not be stopped, outscoring their opponent 11-7 the rest of the way to earn the 68-61 win.
 
The Rams outshot their opponent 39 percent to 37 percent from the field. Wesleyan also held the rebounding edge as well, 45-38.  
 
Nolisa posted another double-double behind 16 points and 12 rebounds. Threats followed suit with a 17 point, 10 rebound double-double performance. Falesha Fuller added 11 points for the Lady Rams.    
 
The Lady Rams will continue in day two of the SAGU Classic with a game against Oklahoma Wesleyan University tomorrow starting at 2:00 pm.