The Lady Rams held onto what had been an 8-point lead to eke out a win against the Oklahoma City University Stars 63-61 in Oklahoma City Thursday night.

The win puts Texas Wesleyan at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in SAC play.
 
Once again, the Lady Rams struggled 25% in the first from the field and 36.36% in the second. But the Lady Rams were able to go into the locker room tied at 28-28 at the half. Zarria Carter carried the Lady Ram offense in the first half accounting for 12 of Texas Wesleyan's 28 points. Carter ended the game with a double-double, scoring 23 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. 

In the second half, the Lady Rams put on a more even offensive showing as Makayla Coy and Taryn Willis added to Carter's 12 points. Coy ended the game with 15 points and five rebounds, while Willis just missed a double-double performance with 13 points and nine rebounds. Na'Teiona Cole also nabbed eight rebounds for the Lady Rams, who outrebounded the Stars 52-32 overall and 22-5 on offensive rebounds. That dominance on the boards helped Texas Wesleyan with second-chance points, 19 to the Stars 8. 
 
The Lady Rams also improved their shooting percentage in the third quarter, hitting 10 of 16 shots for a 62.5 shooting percentage from the field. That sharp shooting sent the Lady Rams into the fourth quarter leading 48-41. The game's biggest lead came in the fourth, but with two minutes left, the Stars weren't willing to call the win. 

Instead, Oklahoma City went into high gear, narrowing a 63-55 lead to 63-59 with 44 seconds left in the game. Timeouts from the Stars, then back-to-back Texas Wesleyan timeouts, resulted in missed shots from both teams. Another timeout by the Stars with 20 seconds left in the game was followed by a jump shot, cutting the Lady Ram lead to two points. The Lady Rams called a timeout, which was followed by an Oklahoma City foul.

Cole could not connect on the free throw, but Texas Wesleyan nabbed the rebound, resulting in another Stars foul with 8 seconds left in the game. Again, Cole missed the free throw. The Stars snared the rebound this time and called a quick timeout with 7 seconds left in the game. Oklahoma City was able to get off a last-second jumper with three seconds left in the game, but a Willis rebound sealed the game for the Lady Rams.

Texas Wesleyan was able to capitalize on turnovers, scoring 21 points off  17 Oklahoma City turnovers. Texas Wesleyan had more turnovers than the Stars, 18, but Oklahoma City could only score nine points off those turnovers. Still, the Lady Rams struggled with shooting from the field and the line, shooting just 29.4% from the free throw line and 40% overall from the field, with only one-quarter above 38%.
 
The Lady Rams host John Brown University at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, before the Thanksgiving break. The contest is the 18th time the two teams have met, with Texas Wesleyan winning the last three meetings. The two teams are tied 9-9 in their 9-year history.