On Saturday afternoon, the Sul Ross State women's basketball team took the home court for the final time of the 2023-2024 season.

The Lobos played hard until the final whistle, unfortunately the East Texas Baptist Tigers came away with the 63-58 win at the Pete P. Gallego Center.

>> HOW IT HAPPENED:

The opening quarter had a slow start as the Lobos scored the first bucket of the contest with a layup by Cheyanne Bonilla.

East Texas Baptist tied up the score and then Emily Bunger made a layup to put the Lobos back ahead.

The Tigers closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead.

Sul Ross State flipped the score in the second quarter by going on a 9-0 run which included a clutch three from Bonilla and four points by Victoria Aguayo.

The lead went back to the Tigers and then Marley Rokas made a layup to put the Lobos on top by one.

East Texas Baptist later tied the score at 18-all before taking a two-point lead with 4:38 to go in the first half.

Bunger tied up the score at 20-20 with a jumper in the paint that sparked a 4-0 run that also included two made free throws by Aguayo.

The score was tied three times until the Lobos pulled ahead to a two-point lead after Rokas and Bunger made three throws to make the score 29-27 at the break.

Sul Ross State led by as much as 12 in the third quarter after it went on a 9-0 run that included a three from Rokas and a clutch layup by Cierra Zapata.

East Texas Baptist later put together a 6-0 run to trail by three.

Bonilla knocked down another clutch three as time expired in the third quarter to put the Lobos up by six.

The score was tied three times in the final quarter.

Sul Ross State held a five-point lead with 8:23 to go after Bunger made a pair of free throws.

East Texas Baptist used a 4-0 run to take a one-point lead until Bonilla made a three-pointer to put her team back out in front by two.

As the lead exchanged back in forth, the Lobos went on a 4-0 run to pull ahead by two with 3:41 to go.

The Tigers then went on a 9-2 run to secure the win.

>> RECORDS: Sul Ross State (8-16); East Texas Baptist (12-11)

>> POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:

"Emily — she was the MVP of this game. When I wasn't shooting good, I was just going to pass it to Emily. She's so tough. Those girls are way bigger than us and way more built. Emily might be four inches short than them, but she can handle them. She was doing so great. Our guards were so fast putting the pressure on the top. Cheyanne with the three-point shots — everyone around was doing a very good job. We got nothing to lose. We're just going to go out there, have fun, hopefully everyone can get in and end the season with a high." — Marley Rokas
 
"We wanted to win for our seniors. Sadly, we didn't come up with the win, but we fight every game. That's all I can ask for. I think we were really focused on our posts, so getting the kick out really helped me just get open shots. We want to finish the season with a win. I hope everyone comes to play. We're going to finish the week hard and we're going to give our all." — Cheyanne Bonilla

>> GAME NOTES:

• The lead changed hands 13 times while the score was deadlocked 10 times.
• Rokas scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds. She is now just five points away from reaching 1,000 career points.
• Bonilla added with 13 points, two assists and three steals. She also knocked down three 3-pointers.
• Bunger had 11 points, nine rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists.
• Aguayo finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
• The Lobos grabbed 34 rebounds while they shot 14 for 17 from the free throw line.

>> UP NEXT: The Lobos close out the season at Howard Payne University at 1 p.m. CST on Saturday, Feb. 17.