DENTON, Texas (Feb. 24, 2024) - The Texas Woman's basketball team suffered a rough home loss against UT Permian Basin on Saturday, 51-47. Self-inflicted wounds and the shooting battle were too much to overcome for the Pioneers as they dropped their second home loss of the year.

TWU's (25-4, 19-2) 15-game win streak ended as UTPB (21-5, 16-4) closed out the Pioneers on Saturday to snap their two-game losing skid.

The Falcons gained the upper edge in the low-scoring affair and had a 51-32 rebound advantage, with 21 boards coming on the offensive end. UTPB led in most hustle categories, including second chance points, points off turnovers, and fast break points.

Leila Patel led all TWU scorers with 16 points and three triples. She contributed three rebounds, one block, and a steal. Jada Celsur finished with a team and season high 10 rebounds. Celsur added six points and three steals to her performance.

The opening five minutes of play favored neither team as both struggled early offensively with open shots not dropping. UTPB got things going and jumped to a 7-1 lead before TWU picked up their pace. The Pioneers took advantage of the bonus and closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to take an 8-7 lead into the second.

UTPB's offense started to pick up in the second and saw themselves up by as much as seven points, 18-11, midway through the quarter. The pace of the game picked up as well, but turnovers and fouls plagued any chances of momentum for both teams as the Falcons went into the half with a 24-20 edge.

TWU looked to turn things around and came out of the break with back-to-back scores from Scout Huffman and Patel to tie it at 24. Neither team wanted to give an inch as they exchanged the lead four times in the third quarter.

As momentum began to rise in favor of the Pioneers, the struggle to take care of the ball and reduce second chance opportunities became a huge factor. The Falcons scored a last second layup off the offensive glass to take a 34-33 lead into the final quarter of play.

The Pioneers started the fourth with similar intensity as the third and seized opportunities to take over the game but could not turn the tide. A combination of offensive rebounds by the Falcons and the Pioneer's inefficiency down the stretch ultimately allowed UTPB to hang on to the 51-47 road win.

The game marked two straight losses to UTPB for the Pioneers, who now have a 9-4 overall record against the Falcons.

Despite the loss, TWU held UTPB to 51 points and under 30% shooting,  tied for the fourth-lowest scoring for a TWU opponent this season.

TWU will prepare for a highly anticipated rematch with UT Tyler for the LSC regular season title on Thursday, Feb. 29, in Tyler, Texas, at 5:30 p.m.

-PIONEERS-