FORT WORTH, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan University women’s basketball team (7-7, 5-1 RRAC) took their third consecutive Red River Athletic Conference victory when they defeated UT-Permian Basin (7-11, 5-4) 70-60 in the Sid Richardson Center on Monday.

The Lady Rams defense forced 26 Falcons turnovers, which led to 25 points.  Texas Wesleyan also got another strong performance from Shawndrika Courtney who turned in her second double-double in a row.

Texas Wesleyan controlled the flow of the game for much of the contest.  The Lady Rams held a 33-22 lead at halftime.  They stretched that lead to as many as 13 at 37-26 at the start of the second half, but UTPB went on an 11-2 run to close the gap to 39-37.  The Falcons later took their first lead of the game when Kim Chaffin drained a pair of free throws to bring the score to 46-45 with 10:47 on the clock.

Courtney had been tagged with her third foul during the Falcons’ run and exited the game.  Courtney returned to the floor with 9:00 to play and gave the Lady Rams a 52-50 edge after hitting three-of-four free throws.  Texas Wesleyan settled down, and stretched the lead back to double-figures when Courtney hit a layup to bring the score to 61-50 with 5:07 to play.  From there the Lady Rams held on for the 70-60 win.

“Shawndrika has stepped up in the last two games, showing consistency which is good to see in conference games,” said head coach Stacy Francis.  “Britney [Helton] has been steady for us too.  She is the type of player you want in the game because she will make something positive happen.”

Courtney finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.  Tiffany Hill added 14 points while Britney Helton finished with 12.  Dana Davis led the Falcons with 15 points and 12 rebounds.  Kim Chaffin scored 15 points as well.

The Lady Rams return to action on Thursday, January 19 when they travel to Paul Quinn College.  That game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be followed by a men’s game.