BETHANY, OK - Texas Wesleyan Women's Basketball (8-11, 6-5 SAC) got off to a slow start and then couldn't finish off the Southwestern Christian Eagles (7-9, 4-6 SAC) in the fourth frame in a 58-46 loss Saturday afternoon.

After falling behind 15-6 after the first ten minutes, the Lady Rams entered catch-up mode. Kyla Grant cut the deficit to seven, 23-16, with 3:05 to go in the first half, Karah Sicurella put in a lay-up with 0:42 to go in the third frame - trailing then by six - 38-32 - and Grant hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 38-33 early in the fourth but the Lady Rams could never manage to get any closer.

The Lady Rams found 60 different opportunities to score from the field but were just a combined 5-for-30 shooting in the first and fourth quarters combined (11-of-30 in the second and third quarters). That was 11 more shots than the Eagles could manage, thanks to 15 offensive rebounds by Texas Wesleyan including four from Grant.

Nicole Gleason, Chrystal Ngawuchu and Sicurella all led the Lady Rams with eight points, while Grant scored seven. Ngawuchu led the rebounds category with nine while Evie Whorley contributed six boards. Lexi Burns had the most passes lead to buckets with three of the team's seven assists. 

While the Lady Rams lost the turnover battle 16-14, TXWES was able to take better advantage, scoring 17 points off those turnovers. Southwestern Christian scored a mere 11 points off of 16 takeaways.

It's the third-straight season the Lady Rams have lost in Bethany but Texas Wesleyan has been able to beat Southwestern Christian in Fort Worth each of the last two years. The Eagles come back to town February 7.

HALFWAY LEADERS
Without Jordan Brightwell in the lineup, Nicole Gleason (11.8 points per game) and Whorley (9.3 ppg) have been the team's most consistent scorers. Gleason also leads the squad in rebounds (91) and assists (42).

WHAT'S NEXT
Texas Wesleyan will travel to John Brown and then to Bacone next Thursday and Saturday at 6 and 2 p.m., respectively. The Lady Rams beat John Brown and Bacone on the first go-around in conference this season, just one of three teams to beat John Brown in conference - who received votes in the latest Top 25 NAIA Coaches' Poll. Bacone is 0-14 and is losing games by an average score of 103-38.