WAXAHACHIE, TX - After eight days off from an exhibition at Tarleton State, Texas Wesleyan Women's Basketball (0-1) was ready to get its season going for real in Waxahachie at the SAGU Classic and nearly pulled off a stunner against No. 18 LSU-Shreveport (1-0), falling 59-58.

Down 59-56, Nicole Gleason fired a three, but missed. Lexi Burns grabbed the offensive rebound and tried for a quick put-back, which didn't fall. Kayla Grant grabbed the offensive board and scored, but as time expired. The Lady Rams got three looks in seven seconds.

Texas Wesleyan jumped out to an 18-7 lead at the end of the first quarter behind a hot start from Kayla Grant. Grant, a freshman from Gilmer High School in Tyler, scored six points in three minutes to help build a five-point advantage. She finished with eight points and six rebounds. 

Up 29-27 at the break Karah Sicurella started the third quarter off right. She scored six of the Rams' next eight points to help keep Texas Wesleyan within striking distance, trailing just 38-36 with 5:10 to play in the third frame. After falling behind 52-45 in the fourth, Sicurella heated up again, hitting a two and a three-point bucket for a mini 5-0 run. Nicole Gleason tied the game at 54 with 2:10 to go and Jordan Brightwell got a good look in the paint to tie things up at 56 with 1:18 to go, but the Lady Rams never could manage to re-gain the lead.

Sicurella finished with team highs in both points (14) and rebounds (7), shooting 6-of-8 from the floor in 28 minutes. That's on the heels of the way Sicurella finished the Rams' 2017-2018 campaign, with 22 and 18-point outbursts. Brightwell chipped in nine points while Nicole Gleason and Kyla Grant each had eight. 

SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT
Last season, Texas Wesleyan lost to Tarleton State in an exhibition by 30, and lost to LSU-Shreveport by 10 in the SAGU Classic. This month, the Lady Rams lost to Tarleton by 17 and to Shreveport by just the point. Upcoming tests against 2017-2018 opponents Midwestern State and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will also provide good barometers.

WHAT'S NEXT
Texas Wesleyan faces Baker University tomorrow at 1 p.m. Baker is 4-0, defeating Southwest Assemblies of God Friday, 66-62. They've also topped Kansas schools Ottawa, St. Mary's and Friends, all by double digits. It'll be the first time the two programs ever face off.