JACKSON, Miss. -- LeTourneau University women's basketball team fell to Birmingham-Southern College, 63-53, Saturday at the Millsaps Classic. The YellowJackets will meet the host Majors 3 p.m. Sunday to wrap up the pre-Thanksgiving tournament.

After trailing 29-17 at halftime, LETU (1-2) outscored BSC, 21-18, in the third period. The Jackets cut the deficit to eight on Keauna Whitfield's three-pointer after a steal by Micayla Mikulski. Malacia Guy knocked down a jumper in the paint to pull LeTourneau within seven. Mikulski came away with another steal and fastbreak basket, was fouled, and then sank the free throw to trim the gap to 36-32 with 4:36 remaining in the quarter.  

Following a basket by the Panthers, Guy scored in the paint at the 3:26 mark to keep it a four-point game. Birmingham-Southern (4-1) bumped its lead back to 12 before Kyndall Hardeman sank a free throw, and Mikulski scored on a layup with five seconds left in the period as LETU entered the final quarter trailing 47-38.

Mikulski scored nine of her 13 points in the third period, going 4 of 4 from the floor. 

The Panthers extended their lead to 15 in the first 2:23 of the fourth. Flora Akingbade scored on a lay-in, and Mikulski added another as the YellowJackets got within 11. Bailey Lightfoot hit a 3-pointer with 5:46 left on the clock to pull LeTourneau within 55-45. The Panthers pushed their lead out to 17 at the 3:38 mark. Vanessa Cruz buried a triple, and Akingbade sank a pair from the free throw line as the Jackets cut it to 62-50 with 2:44 left. Whitfield scored in transition to shrink the gap to 10, but it was too little, too late.

Mikulksi shot 6 of 9 from the floor, and had six steals and four rebounds. Whitfield had 10 points and seven rebounds. Guy and Cruz each scored seven points. Scruffy Hopkins pulled down six rebounds. Derienne Black scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards, and Misa Fujii and Emilee Olsen each had 14 points and five rebounds for BSC.

The YellowJackets shot 19 of 62 from the field. The Panthers went 22 of 39. Both teams had 34 rebounds. LeTourneau scored 21 points off 29 Birmingham-Southern turnovers. The Panthers scored 25 points off 22 Jackets turnovers.