DENTON, Texas (Nov. 19, 2017) - Alexis Nezianya recorded her second double-double of the Best Western Premier Pioneer Classic with 15 points and 11 rebounds and earned All-Tournament honors for Texas Woman's University, but the Pioneers fell short in a 57-49 loss to Central Oklahoma for the first TWU loss of the season Sunday afternoon inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
The Pioneers (3-1, 0-0 LSC) struggled from the floor with a 17-of-63 showing for 27-percent shooting. The Bronchos (5-0, 0-0 MIAA) hit 24-of-62 for 39-percent, and the teams tied in the rebounding column with 43 apiece. For TWU, KJ Stastny joined Nezianya in double figures with 11.
 
Trailing by as many as 12 late in the third quarter, the Pioneers outscored UCO 14-4 to pull within 51-49 on a jumper from Grace Mitchell and two free throws by Nezianya with just under four minutes to play. The Bronchos hit two free throws for a 53-49 advantage, while Stastny had two good looks from deep but the shots did not quite drop. UCO converted two field goals to go up 57-49 with less than a minute to play, and TWU was unable to score the rest of the way in the Broncho win.
 
UCO opened the game on a 9-2 run before Kara Mitchell converted a three-point play, and Nezianya grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback to cut the margin to 9-7. The Bronchos again gained a seven-point lead at 21-14 four minutes into the second quarter, but Desiree Phipps nailed a three and Stastsy hit a pair from beyond the arc within a 30-second span to knot the game at 23-all. Nezianya handed the Pioneers the lead on a free throw before UCO took a 28-26 lead at the half.
 
The Pioneers went scoreless for nearly five minutes into the second half as the Bronchos pulled ahead 39-26. Nezianya scored two buckets and Stastny added a three to trim the lead to 39-33, but UCO responded with three straight field goals to push the lead back to 45-33.
 
Head Coach Beth Jillson said, "We played with a lot of toughness and grit against one of the best teams in the MIAA. Lex had a phenomenal weekend and made a huge impact, especially on the boards. We will learn from this and be ready for another road test at Emporia State."
 
The Pioneers travel to No. 11 ESU Saturday for a non-conference matchup at 1:30 p.m.