Ft. Worth, Texas. – The Texas Wesleyan University Rams scored the final five points of the game to slip by the Friends University Falcons 70-69 today (Nov. 9) in action at the Texas Wesleyan Classic in Ft. Worth, Texas. The Falcons split the weekend in the Lone Star State after winning 67-52 over the University of North Texas at Dallas yesterday (Nov. 8).
The Falcons were on top 69-65 on a layup by Abigail Barr with 1:54 left, but wouldn't score again.
That left the door open for the Rams, who got a layup from Imani Mitchell at the 1:25 mark and then a go-ahead three by Savanna Smith with seven seconds remaining.
The Rams then finished the win with a defensive stop in the final seconds to seal the win.
Down 41-30 at the break, the Falcons stormed out of the game in the second half with the first 15 points of the third quarter to pull ahead by four points.
After Texas Wesleyan responded with a 9-2 spurt to regain a three-point edge, the Falcons fought back and got a three by Kori Babcock and a jumper by Jadyn Glasgow to reclaim a 54-52 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
A layup by Taylor Jackson helped the Falcons build the lead as high as six in the final period before the Rams made their push back.
Babcock led the Falcons (2-3) with 20 points and hit 4-of-9 from three-point distance. Jackson had a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds and Barr equaled her career-high output with 16 points. Lauryn McIver had seven rebounds and six assists for Friends.
Tayran Wills paced the Rams with 18 points and Kameryn Phillips scored 12 and recorded a team-high eight boards. Smith also had 12 points for Texas Wesleyan.
The Falcons outshot the Rams 49.1 percent (27-of-55) to 36.8 percent (28-of-76) overall from the field but shot just 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from three-point distance compared to a 50 percent clip (8-of-16) for Texas Wesleyan.
Friends also held a 47-31 edge overall on the glass but were outrebounded 16-13 on the offensive glass.
The Falcons will next open up KCAC action Saturday (Nov. 16) at Evangel University for a noon tip-off in Springfield, Mo.
