MARSHALL, Texas — Trailing by eight at the end of the first quarter, the Sul Ross State women's basketball team battled its way back to lead by three entering the final stanza.

However, the East Texas Baptist University Tigers outscored the Lobos in the fourth to pull away with the 80-71 victory Thursday night at Ornelas Gymnasium.

>> HOW IT HAPPENED:

After a rough first quarter, the Lobos were down by as much as nine with 9:15 to go in the second quarter.

Using a 7-0 run, Sul Ross State got to within two points. Emily Bunger and Cheyanne Bonilla each made a layup while Victoria Aguayo landed two free throws during the rally.

Bunger helped fuel a 6-0 run by scoring four points to give the Lobos a two-point lead with 4:06 on the clock.

ETBU tied up the game at 35-all before Bonilla knocked down a three-pointer to put Sul Ross State ahead.

Kayley Diaz helped increase the Lobo lead to five with a jumper in the paint at the 2:57 mark.

The Tigers closed out the first half with an 8-2 run to trail by three at the break.

Right after the break, the Lobos were down by five until Bonilla knocked down her second three-pointer to cut the deficit to two.

On three made free throws from Aguayo and Marley Rokas, the Lobos were within one with 6:36 to go.

ETBU used a 4-0 run to gain a five-point lead.

Sul Ross State retaliated back with a 7-0 run that was fueled by a three from Bonilla, a made layup by Bunger and two free throws by Jema Padilla.

The rally put the Lobos on top, 55-53, with 4:09 on the clock.

ETBU went on a 5-0 run to take a three-point lead before Ariana Escalante knocked down a three to tie the game at 58-all with 1:40 remaining.

Ti'Miah Jackson-Allen was sent to the line as she made one of two free throws. Escalante later made a layup to have the Lobos close out the third quarter on a 6-0 run.

The lead changed twice early in the fourth quarter.

Sul Ross State broke a 61-61 tie on a layup by Escalante with 8:32 on the clock.

ETBU then went on a 6-0 run to lead by four until Rokas cut the deficit in half with a jumper in the paint. The Lobos trailed by two points on two occasions at the 5:38 and 3:24 marks.

The Tigers made seven points off free throws in the final three minutes to break away.

>> RECORDS: Sul Ross State (4-10); East Texas Baptist (5-8)

>> GAME NOTES:

• Bonilla tied her season-high mark of 16 points. She also made three 3-pointers and had three assists and two steals.
• Bonilla's 52 assists rank second in the American Southwest Conference and first on the squad. She also has a team-high 14 made three-pointers.
• Diaz scored a season-high 12 points while she tallied two steals and three assists.
• Aguayo added with 11 points, a team-best nine rebounds and eight steals. Aguayo matched her season-high in steals.
• Aguayo's 105 total rebounds rank second in the ASC while her 55 steals led the conference.
• Escalante finished with nine points while Bunger had eight points and seven rebounds.
• Rokas tallied six points and six rebounds before she fouled out of the contest in the second half. She ranks fifth in the ASC in scoring and third in made free throws.
• The Lobos finished with 33 rebounds, 14 steals and 10 assists.
• Sul Ross State shot 17 of 20 (85%) from the free throw line. The Lobos rank third in the ASC in free throw percentage (73%) and second in made free throws (218).
• The score was tied seven times and there were six different lead changes.
• Sul Ross State got 29 points off of turnovers.

>> UP NEXT: The Lobos continue their east Texas road swing with a 1 p.m. CST tip off against LeTourneau University on Saturday, Jan. 6.