MARSHALL — With the No. 1 spot in the American Southwest Conference already locked in, four other teams are engaged in a close battle for the next three spots.
Sitting alone in fourth place, the Sul Ross State women's basketball team made the long trek out to East Texas Baptist, which is currently tied for second place.
The Lobos held a 43-38 lead at the end of the three quarters.
Two players fouled out for Sul Ross, which allowed the Tigers to outscore the Lobos, 21-6, in the final quarter to come out with the 59-49 win at Ornelas Gymnasium on Thursday night.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, ETBU remains tied for second as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor defeated the University of Texas at Dallas, which is a game behind the Lobos in fifth place.
There were four different lead changes in the first quarter. Sul Ross closed out the frame with a 10-0 run to take the 19-13 lead.
Vania Hampton,
Marley Rokas,
Kayley Diaz and
Emily Bunger all landed shots in the paint to fuel the offensive spree.
On two quick three-pointers to start the second quarter, the Tigers tied up the game at 19-all with 7:26 on the clock.
ETBU took a two-point lead before the Lobos tied up the score at 21-all with a layup from
Ileana Morales.
The pendulum then swung back over to ETBU as it regained a two-point lead.
Closing out the quarter with a 4-0 run, the Tigers led by six at the half.
Sul Ross cut the deficit in half with 8:28 in the third quarter when Bunger was fouled on a made layup for a three-point play.
Diaz then delivered a clutch three to tie the game at 31-all.
Using a 13-0 run, the Lobos surged to a seven-point lead with 6:46 to go.
Brianna Martin highlighted the big run with a three-pointer.
Rokas also got a three-point play after being fouled on a made layup during the fast break.
Sul Ross led by as much as eight after a layup by Morales with 3:12 to go in the quarter.
The Tigers landed three free throws in the final stretch of the quarter to trail by five.
Diaz and
Victoria Aguayo both fouled out in the fourth quarter as ETBU was able to pull ahead for a nine-point lead with 2:46 to go in the contest.
ETBU led by as much as 11 with 39 seconds to go. Bunger cut the deficit down to nine after making a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left.
The lead was too much as the Tigers were able to get their revenge on the Lobos. Sul Ross won the last meeting over ETBU on Jan. 7 by a score of 71-58.
Martin led the way with 11 points, four rebounds and one assist while Rokas tallied 10 points, five steals and seven boards.
Bunger added with nine points and seven rebounds. Diaz chipped in with seven points, three assists and six boards.
ETBU grabbed 43 rebounds compared to the 40 hauled in by the Lobos. Sul Ross shot 10 of 14 from the free throw line.
All in all, there were five different lead changes while the score was tied seven times.
The Lobos scored 23 points off turnovers while they made 28 points in the paint.
ETBU snapped the Lobos' three-game winning streak.
>> RECORDS: ETBU (17-5, 11-4); Sul Ross (14-9, 10-6)
>> UP NEXT: Sul Ross takes on LeTourneau on the road at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.
>> SCORES FROM AROUND THE ASC:
- Mary Hardin-Baylor 50, UT-Dallas 43
- Concordia 82, Ozarks 68
- LeTourneau 77, Howard Payne 69
>> ASC STANDINGS: 1. Hardin-Simmons (20-2, 15-0); 2. (tie) East Texas Baptist (17-5, 11-4); and Mary Hardin-Baylor (16-6, 11-4);
4. Sul Ross (14-9, 10-6); 5. UT-Dallas (13-8, 9-6); 6. (tie) Concordia (10-11, 7-8); and McMurry (11-10, 5-10); 8. LeTourneau (7-15, 3-12); 9. Howard Payne (2-21, 0-16).
