Complete Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – Despite a strong start in each half, the Lady Rams of Texas Wesleyan couldn’t hold either lead, and allowed Paul Quinn to steal a 76-69 victory in their first-ever Red River Athletic Conference match-up.

The game began with Wesleyan jumping into the lead thanks to Ashley Walker’s ability to score in the paint. She hit two early buckets and the Lady Rams looked like they would control the game fairly easily.

Paul Quinn came roaring back, however, behind the shooting of Tracy Silcott and Andrea Anderson, who posted eight and seven points, respectively, in the first half. The Lady Tigers erased Wesleyan’s six-point advantage, and began to build a lead of their own. By the break, they would be out in front 30-22.

The Lady Rams looked like a different team as the second half began. Their hustle led to easy baskets for Shawndrika Courtney and Ertasha Jackson, and by the eight-minute mark, they had evened the score. They also forced several Lady Tiger fouls, and hit the bonus with ten minutes to play.

Julia Holmes was the primary benefactor of Paul Quinn’s generosity, and she connected on 12 of 14 second-half free throw attempts to help push the Lady Rams out in front by a score of 55-47 with four minutes remaining.

Just like in the first half, though, the Lady Rams couldn’t hold the lead. Paul Quinn shifted into an aggressive full court press, leading to five steals and four Ram turnovers in the final minutes. And the Lady Tigers didn’t waste the opportunity. Leslie Chess hit two big three-pointers and Hilary Fauble, before fouling out, hit another as Paul Quinn went on a 15-7 run that evened the score at 62 with less than a minute to play.

Both teams missed on good scoring opportunities before the Paul Quinn press forced another turnover with 18 seconds remaining. With the shot clock turned off, the Lady Tigers slowed down the offense to set up for one last shot. With five seconds left, they found Chess, perfect to that point on her three attempts from beyond the arc, open from long-range. Her shot was too strong, though, and the teams headed for overtime, Wesleyan’s first of the season.

The Tigers continued to press as the extra frame began, and continued to have success with it. They kept the Wesleyan offense from getting in gear, and quickly went up by four. The Lady Rams would manage a brief rally to tie the game at 67, but could only score two more as Paul Quinn blew past them for a 76-69 victory.

Three Lady Rams posted double-doubles in the game. Holmes led all scorers with 17 points, and had 10 rebounds. Walker scored 13 and managed 11 boards, and Kimberly Cooper finished with 10 and 10. Courtney tallied 14 points and added 7 rebounds.

For Paul Quinn, six players finished with double digit in the “points” column. Chess scored 15, Anderson and Jasmine Dowden had 12 each, Katrina Simpson finished with 11, and Silcott and Fauble each had 10. Anderson also posted nine rebounds for the 2-3, 1-1 Lady Tigers.

The Lady Rams drop to 4-3 on the season, and are 0-1 in conference play. They return to the court on December 12 in Waxahachie to face Southwestern Assemblies of God University at 5:30 PM.