ALPINE, Texas – Battling back from a 13-point third-quarter deficit which included junior Jaila Leaven hitting a three to tie the game with three seconds remaining, the LeTourneau University women's basketball team saw host Sul Ross State University hit a game-winning three as time expired to hand the YellowJackets a 57-54 loss at the Gallego Center on Saturday, December 9th.

LETU is now 2-6 on the season and 0-3 in American Southwest Conference play while the Lobos improved to 1-6 overall and 1-1 in the ASC.

"Sul Ross is a tough place to play and we tried to prepare our team for that all week" said head coach Cassi Rozanski in a postgame interview. "We didn't come out with the energy and fight that we have to have to win on the road and especially when playing in a tough environment like we faced today."

A quick start to the game saw SRSU jump out to an early lead with Jasmine Valdez getting the Lobo offense going early before a pair of Savannah Cummings free throws would cut the deficit to 7-4 at the seven minute mark in the first half. Five of the next seven points would be scored by Sul Ross to extend their lead to 14-6 before senior Ashley Reed would hit back-to-back three's to cut the Lobo lead down to 14-12 with 1:57 remaining in the first quarter. Another run by Sul Ross allowed for the final six points of the quarter to be scored by the hosts as SRSU would grab a 20-12 lead at the end of the first.

In the second quarter, LeTourneau would stay within striking distance and try to close the gap on multiple different occasions, but Sul Ross would answer every run that the YellowJackets would go on. Olivia Eweni would spark a 5-0 run by LETU to start the second to cut the SRSU lead to 20-17, but a 4:12 scoring drought for LETU allowed Sul Ross to extend their lead back out to seven at 24-17. LeTourneau would close out the half on a 5-2 run to cut into the Lobo lead and trail by a score of 27-22 at the half.

The Sul Ross lead would stay in single digits for the opening minutes of the second half as LeTourneau would match the Lobo output before a 7-0 run gave SRSU their largest lead of the game at 39-26 with 5:18 remaining in the third. A jumper in the paint by freshman Keauna Whitfield followed by a Reed triple would be just what LETU needed to cut the deficit back to single digits, as Sul Ross would use a 7-2 run towards the end of the quarter to take a 46-35 lead heading into the fourth.

Needing a spark to complete a comeback against the Lobos, LeTourneau would lean on the senior leadership of Cummings to score the opening five points of the quarter and get within six at 46-40 just 93 seconds into the fourth. A pair of SRSU free throws pushed the lead back to 48-40, but a Leaven three and Reed layup brought LETU to their smallest deficit since the first quarter with the score 48-45 in favor of Sul Ross.

Out of the final media timeout of the game, Reed would hit her fourth three of the game to tie things at 48 and then hit a free throw 57 seconds later to give LeTourneau their first lead of the game. The game would then turn into a free throw shooting contest as both teams started fouling to extend the game which would find the YellowJackets trailing by three with the ball with nine seconds left in regulation.

Leaven would throw up a deep three over an outstretched SRSU defender and knock in the trey to tie the game with 3.5 seconds remaining as Sul Ross would call timeout to move the ball into the frontcourt. The final possession of the game would see Lobo guard Erica Powell double-teamed off the inbounds pass before splitting the two defenders and throwing up a last second shot that managed to go in as time expired.

LeTourneau would shoot 29.2 percent (19-65) from the field and hit six three's in the game while also holding a 47-41 rebounding advantage over the Lobos. The YellowJackets also managed to limit their turnovers to only 12 while taking advantage of 16 SRSU turnovers for 15 points.
A game-high 19 points by Reed led LeTourneau while Cummings recorded her first double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Whitfield also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Sul Ross was led by a team-high 12 points from Angalyn Latin.

LeTourneau will look to rebound on Monday evening with an American Southwest Conference road game at Howard Payne. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. against the YellowJackets.