SHAWNEE, OK: The Texas Wesleyan University women's basketball team (14-7, 6-4 SAC) used a 23 point third quarter to hold off an upset minded St. Gregory's University (2-10, 0-10 SAC) 55-51 at Sumner Field House on Saturday.
 
The Lady Rams were held to just four points in the final quarter, but stayed solid defensively as the Cavaliers went 4-16 from the floor. The Lady Rams last bucket was at the 7:03 mark and held on to the lead to secure the win.
 
The Cavaliers opened things up with a 9-2 run before Nicole Gleason and Alycia Louallen hit back-to-back triples to cap an 8-2 rally. That cut the Cav lead to one at 11-10 with under a minute to go in the quarter. Kylee Tatum answered for St. Gregory's with a three ball to give her team a 14-10 edge after one.
 
The Lady Rams went to work inside to start the second stanza, grabbing a 7-0 rally capped by a Bailey Broadnax bucket and the foul to secure a 17-14 lead. The Cavaliers used a couple shots from downtown to regain a five point lead midway through. The Lady Rams responded with another seven straight points with Lorian Benjamin tacking on the last four to give TXWES a 28-26 lead at the break.
 
Texas Wesleyan continued their run into the third quarter as Courtney Chargois got a jumper to go to extend the lead to 34-26. Rams continued to dominate the quarter, extending the lead to 12 points with a Katelynn Threats jumper. Lasheena Trice found Threats again before the third quarter buzzer sounded for a 51-39 advantage.
 
Wesleyan shot 55 percent in the third quarter, but the offense came to a screeching halt in the fourth. Broadnax hit a jumper to keep it a 12-point lead at the 7:03 mark before another Tatum three-pointer started a drought for the Rams. Tatum sank another shot from behind the arc to cut the TXWES lead to six with four minutes remaining. The defense held strong with Wesleyan forcing eight turnovers with seven steals. The lead shrank to five and Tatum set up for another three-pointer, but Benjamin got a piece of it for a block. SGU hit a bucket at the buzzer, but it did not affect the outcome as the Lady Rams escaped with a 55-51 win.      
 
Broadnax led the team with 19 points and eight boards. Threats poured in 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the win. Benjamin posted nine points for the Rams.
 
The Lady Rams will host Mid-America Christian University on Thursday, February 2 starting at 6:00 pm at the Sid Richardson Center.