FORT WORTH, Texas - For ten minutes, the Lady Rams played right with the second-best NAIA women’s team in the country, holding a 17-16 lead midway through the first half. A 13-0 run by the Huskies over the next five minutes, however, put Houston Baptist out in front by 12, and they never looked back, winning 104-63 in front of the 100 or so fans that braved the weather.

The Huskies jumped out to a quick lead, and it looked like the Lady Rams were in deep trouble. Elinor Smith scored twice in the first two minutes - assisted both times by Jere’ Adams - and Adams and Tiffany Andrews each added another basket to put HBU up 8-0 after three minutes of play.

The Lady Rams answered, though, with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the score. Stephanie Reder got Wesleyan on the board with a tough lay-up in traffic, Shayla Coleman knocked down a free throw, Shawndrika Courtney converted on a three-point play, and Kim Cooper put back a Coleman miss to even the score with 13:30 remaining in the half. Then, after HBU scored again, Coleman buried a three-pointer to give the Lady Rams their first lead, 11-10, at the 12:55 mark. They held the lead for exactly three minutes, when Smith’s lay-up gave the Huskies the lead for good at 18-17. HBU outscored Wesleyan 32-10 over the final ten minutes of the first half to take a commanding 48-27 lead into halftime.

The second half began much like the first ended. The teams traded opening-minute baskets before the Huskies began another 13-0 scoring run. Smith, Adams, and Andrews combined for all 13 of those points over the next three minutes, giving the Huskies a 63-29 lead with just under 16 minutes to play.

Reder then hit a three-pointer for the Lady Rams, but HBU came right back with yet another run. Smith Adams, and Andrews again combined for all of the scoring in an 11-0 run over two minutes that left the Lady Rams down by 42 with over 13 minutes remaining. Wesleyan continued to play hard, though, and actually outscored HBU over the remaining time.

Though the outcome had long since been decided, the last thirty seconds provided some of the best entertainment in the second half. Rather than just let time run out, Coleman scored on a drive with 24 seconds remaining to bring the score to 98-60. The Huskies, obviously wanting to top 100 points, brought the ball back up in a hurry, where Sherill Hadrick buried a three-pointer with ten seconds left. Jashana Pitt answered for Wesleyan, hitting a three of her own with just 3.2 seconds remaining, but Kanika Harvey’s prayer from near mid-court fell through the hoop as time expired to give the Huskies a 104-63 win.

Smith led the way for the Huskies, posting 22 points on 11 of 12 shooting. She also recorded a game-high ten rebounds. Adams scored 20 with six assists, Andrews had 19 points and seven boards, and Harvey and Hadrick scored 14 and 13 points respectively.

Coleman led the Rams with 22 points, hitting seven of 15 attempts from the floor and seven of nine from the free throw line. She also led the team with eight rebounds. Reder and Pitt each scored nine, and Kori Yates and Courtney each finished with seven. Cooper scored six with five rebounds.

The Lady Rams drop to 12-17, 6-12 in conference play, and currently sit on the conference tournament bubble. If the tournament began today, they would be the eighth and final seed and would play at Houston Baptist in the opening round of the single-elimination event. Two games remain in the regular season for Wesleyan - both home games. The Lady Rams face Langston University on Saturday, then play Bacone College next Monday. Both games tip-off at 5:30 PM.