WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Nov. 14) – The TWU basketball team hung tough with #7 Emporia State early in the game but suffered a 76-61 loss to the Lady Hornets in their 2014-15 season opener at the Ashbrook Classic hosted by Midwestern State.
 
Senior Ria Pateraki and sophomore Emily Spector had 13 points each to lead the TWU offense.  Senior Ashley Salazar and sophomore Kenesha Saygo added nine points apiece for the Pioneers. Senior Barbara-Scott Kolb had eight points for TWU while freshman Morgan Easley made her collegiate debut with seven points off the Pioneers' bench.
 
The Pioneers held a three-point lead midway through the first half, 22-19, before Emporia State went on a 15-0 run.  TWU missed nine straight field goals during the Lady Hornets' surge.  The Pioneers trailed by as many as 17 points in the first 20 minutes but closed out the half on a 4-0 run to cut their deficit to 13 at the break.
 
In the second half, TWU cut the ESU advantage to 10 points on two occasions but that's the closest they would get as the Lady Hornets hit 57.9 percent of their shots in the half.  Trailing by 16 points at 8:20 mark, the Pioneers scored six straight points to make it 68-58 game with 5:58 left in the game.  The Lady Hornets responded, however, by outscoring TWU 8-5 in the final five minutes to seal the win.
 
The Pioneers were aggressive on the floor as they got to the free-throw line 26 times while making 19 of them.  TWU shot 35.7 percent from the floor while the Hornets hit 58.3 percent of their shots.  The Pioneers turned the ball over just seven times in the game while forcing 20 ESU turnovers.
 
"We battled and never gave up against one of the top teams in nation," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson.  "We had a bad four-minute segment in the first half and let them get on a run. We will learn from our mistakes but we have lot of positive to take away from this game.  I am happy with the turnover-margin and our aggressiveness in attacking the rim."
 
The Pioneers will return to action when they take on Adams State on the second day of the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 15.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.