HAWKINS, Texas - For the first time in nine games this season, the Lady Rams didn’t take an early lead. Instead it was the Lady Bulldogs who jumped out in front, behind point guard Ne’Keisha King. After five minutes of play, King had scored six points and Jarvis Christian had established an eight point lead.

The tide began to turn, however, when Shayla Coleman hit a three-pointer at the 14-minute mark. That shot sparked the Lady Rams’ 9-3 run over the next few minutes, and the Lady Rams picked up their intensity to match Jarvis Christian. Kimberly Cooper played well in the interior, pulling down several defensive rebounds and hitting two short jumpers at the other end, and Ashley Walker, returning from an illness that kept her out of Thursday’s game, also connected, taking a nice inside feed from Stephanie Reder and turning it into an easy lay-up.

Both teams battled evenly over the remaining minutes of the half, and Jarvis Christian took a 28-27 lead to the break.

Jarvis Christian added to their lead as the second half began, as King continued to hit from the outside. Lena Samilton added a pair of three-pointers, and with ten minutes remaining, the Lady Bulldogs were again up by eight.

Just like in the first half, though, Wesleyan battled back. And again, it was Shayla Coleman hitting the big shot. After a short Wesleyan run closed the gap to a single point, Coleman hit a running jumper along the left baseline and was fouled in the process. She made the free throw, and the Lady Rams took a 39-37 lead, their first of the half.

Samilton tied the score at 39 with a pair of free throws, but Naomi Vann hit Ashley Walker for a breakaway lay-up to put Wesleyan back out in front. Each team scored on their next possession, before Reder found Walker in transition for another easy bucket. She gave the Lady Rams a 44-41 lead with six minutes to play, and Coleman’s free throws at the 5:37 mark extended the lead to five.

The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to three on King’s 15-footer seconds later, but Vann found Shawndrika Courtney alone in the paint to push the lead back to five with exactly five minutes remaining.

Jarvis Christian would storm back, though. TyNesha Gregory hit a lay-up, and Ashley Paul hit a jumper as the Lady Bulldog press forced a pair of Wesleyan turnovers. The Lady Ram’s lead remained razor thin - one point - for the next two minutes. Then with just 38 seconds to play, Lady Bulldog Gina Holcomb scored her only points of the game on a short turnaround underneath the goal. That shot gave Jarvis Christian their first lead in over seven minutes, and considering the Lady Rams’ recent history, it looked like it might hold up.

In each of the past two games, the Lady Rams have held the ball for the last shot. Both times, a bucket would have won the game, and both times, they couldn’t score.

This afternoon would prove to be different, however, as Courtney took a feed from Vann and hit a very difficult turnaround jumper to give Wesleyan the lead at 55-54. A Lady Bulldog miss at the other end, followed by a foul to Courtney (who nailed both free throws) sealed the victory 57-54.

Coleman paced the Lady Rams with 16 points, including an impressive seven of nine from the free throw line. Walker posted ten points, Julia Holmes scored eight points and added seven rebounds, and Courtney scored eight with five boards.

King led all scorers with 21 points, and Samilton had five rebounds to lead the Lady Bulldogs.

With the victory, the Lady Rams get back above .500 for the season at 5-4. They also improve to 1-2 in Red River Conference play. They return to action to face Millsap College tomorrow at 2:00 PM in Dallas, and return home to meet Schreiner on January 2nd.