MARSHALL - The LeTourneau YellowJacket women's basketball team traveled to East Texas Batptist to take on the Tigers in American Southwest action as they looked to snap a three game skid. The Jackets fell behind and made a great run at the end, but could not overcome a deficit as large as 16 as they fell 63-55.
East Texas Baptist (11-6, 6-5 ASC) got on the board first with a layup and neither team could get a bucket in the next three minutes as both teams turned the ball over before junior Alexis Wighaman got LeTourneau on the board with a jumper to tie it up at two.
The Jackets (6-10, 3-7 ASC) then took the lead around the first media timeout as junior Andrea Ashley got a shot to fall, but ETBU responded right back off a turnover to tie it at four.
Shortly after, the Tigers buried a three followed by a layup from junior Julencia Curtis, who was back in the lineup after sitting the last two games out due to tendinitis. East Texas Baptist then pushed their lead to six before free throws from junior Jessica Manas, a three pointer from sophomore Shi'rrell Williams and a layup from Manas gave the Jackets a 13-12 lead.
From there, East Texas Baptist outscored LeTourneau 10-2 to finish the half and take a 22-15 lead at the break.
The Tigers started the second half on a roll, scoring the first five points to take a 12 point lead and increasing it to 13 three minutes into the half. The Jackets fought back after the first media timeout thanks to tough post play from Ashley and freshman Erica Carson and got the game within four.
However, East Texas Baptist responded and got their lead back to double digits and got their lead as big as 16 with seven minutes to go.
LeTourneau did not go down without a fight, getting the game down to six with two minutes to go. After ETBU responded with four straight points to go back up by 10, LeTourneau hit a couple of threes in exchange for a free throw to make it a five point game.
However, it was not enough in the end as the Tigers took the home win.
LeTourneau had another tough day at the office shooting wise, making only 28% of their shots from the field, 21% from the three point line, and 60% from the free throw line.
Manas led the way with 19 points on teh evening to go with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Ashley added nine points, seven boards, and two steals while freshman Kaley Green provided six points off the bench.
The Jackets will regroup and look to get back on the winning end on Saturday as they take on Texas-Tyler on the road. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game can be heard live on Stretch Internet.
