FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University women's basketball team (15-8, 6-5 SAC) was on the bitter end of a hard fought 73-68 game against Wayland Baptist University (13-8, 6-5 SAC) at the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday.
 
It was a tale of two halves as the Lady Rams simply dominated the first half behind very impressive shooting, but came out flat in the second half and failed to sustain their momentum.
 
Amy Easley hit the bottom of the net from downtown to get things going. Stacey Darnley followed that up with a triple to keep an 8-4 advantage. The Flying Queens stayed right with Wesleyan and gained a 13-11 lead, but another Easley swish from behind the arc kept the Rams on top.
 
Again, Wayland tied the game at 23 apiece with a Shawna Monreal three-pointer with 12:11 left in the first half. Another Monreal three gave the Flying Queens the lead, but Darnley answered with a splash from beyond the arc to spark a 10-0 rally to grab a 35-26 edge with 8:02 left in the first half.
 
Easley knocked down her fifth three-pointer of the half to extend the Lady Ram lead to 41-29. Katelynn Threats followed that with a spinning layup to give Texas Wesleyan their biggest lead of the night at 45-31. Wayland Baptist outscored the Rams 7-2 the rest of the way, but the Lady Rams enjoyed a 47-38 halftime lead.
 
The Lady Rams shot a red hot 64 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Flying Queens posted 42 percent. The Rams also shot 54 percent from downtown, and outscored their opponent 16-4 off turnovers.
 
The second half started with a Threats and one three-point play, but the Flying Queen quickly chopped the lead to 50-48 with an 8-0 run. Texas Wesleyan maintained a slim lead as an Easley jumper kept a 59-53 advantage with 11:16 left in the regulation.
 
Wayland Baptist finally wrestled away the lead with a three-pointer for a 62-60 lead. The Lady Rams evened the contest at 66-66 on a Cheyenne Swoopes layup. WBU knocked down a pair of two-point shots to post a 69-66 lead. Threats completed a three-point play to cut the lead to 71-69, but Wayland Baptist did just enough to steal the game, 73-69.
 
The Flying Queens guarded the perimeter better in the second half, but the Lady Rams also only attempted four shots from beyond the arc. WBU also controlled the boards 42-27. The Rams shot 52 percent from the field, and Wayland Baptist shot 42 percent from the field.
 
Easley led Wesleyan with 19 points. Threats had 17 points and six rebounds. Darnley notched 13 points. Onyesonam Nolisa posted 12 points, five boards, and four assists.
 
The Lady Rams will travel to Chickasha, OK for a matchup with the University of Science & Arts (OK) on Saturday, February 7 starting at 3:00 pm.