FORT WORTH, Texas - Freshman Nastassia Brown had 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds off the bench to lead Texas Wesleyan past UT-Permian Basin, 66-58, Thursday evening in the first round of the Red River Conference tournament.

     Down by two points, with 2:10 remaining in the game, junior Kashae Townsend produced a three-point play to put the Lady Rams up by one, with 1:58 left in the contest. After a Shayla Coleman block, Townsend scored again in the paint to increase the lead to three. Junior Johnna Flemmons came up with a huge steal at the other end and found Brown for the fast-break lay-up at the other end to increase the lead to five, with 56 seconds remaining in the game. Texas Wesleyan iced the game, making 3-of-4 free throws and a layup by Brown to advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament.

     "We had trouble controlling the ball all game and they got hot in the second half," head coach Stacy Francis said. "However, our upperclassmen stepped up at the end when we needed them to."

     Texas Wesleyan (22-8) started the game on a 16-3 run, keyed by four points each by senior Ashley Walker and junior LaRhonda Hunter.

     The Lady Rams would increase their lead to 32-14, at the 4:19 mark of the first half.

     UT-Permian Basin (11-22) fought back outscoring the Lady Rams 13-2, down the stretch in the first half to cut the lead to 34-27 at the break.

     The Lady Falcons opened the second half on a 22-15 run, knotted the score at 49-49, with 6:36 remaining.

     Texas Wesleyan shot 44 percent (24-54) from the floor and 75 percent (18-24) from the charity stripe.

     UT-Permian Basin shot 33 percent (23-70) from the field and 28 percent (7-25) from behind the arc. The Lady Falcons also shot 71 percent (5-7) from the free-throw line.

     The Lady Rams turned the ball over 23 times compared to 16 for UT-Permian Basin. The Lady Rams, however, outrebounded the Lady Falcons, 46-36.

     Townsend led Texas Wesleyan with 15 points and also totaled nine rebounds. Walker chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds in only 19 minutes of play.

     Jessica Hearn led UT-Permian Basin with 20 points and five steals. The shooting guard made five treys and also tallied five rebounds. Teresa Jourdan chipped in with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

     "We have a tough opponent on Saturday," Francis said. "It is definitely the biggest game of the season."

     The Lady Rams will be back in action Saturday, when they host Langston in the semifinals of the Red River Conference tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Sid Richardson Gymnasium. The Lady Rams defeated Langston on Monday, 60-58, in Fort Worth.