BOX SCORE

CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – The Concordia Texas women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 76-71 at Ozarks Monday night in an extremely tight contest that opened American Southwest Conference play for CTX.

The Tornados (5-1, 0-1) led 55-50 heading into the final quarter, but the Eagles (6-4, 2-1) went on a 9-0 run to take a 61-55 lead with 6:40 to play in the game. Concordia cut the advantage to three twice, but Ozarks stretched its advantage to eight with 2:45 left. The Tornados went on its own 5-0 run late to cut the deficit to 3, but the Eagles went 4-of-6 at the line down the stretch to seal Concordia's fate.

Jaela Dejean led the Tornados with 23 points. Kaycie Dunkerley and Mercedes Ellison turned in 14 points apiece while Raven Cato grabbed 14 boards and eight points. Dejean also dished out six assists.

 The two teams traded baskets for nearly the entire first quarter, but CTX emerged on top 20-16 after the first 10 minutes. The Tornados then went on a 9-2 run to close out the half and go into the locker room on top, 38-28.

CTX looked like it would pull away as the third quarter unfolded, getting out to an 11 point lead with 4:00 left in the period, but UO closed the gap to four before Dejean hit a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining.

The Tornados end a five-game winning streak to start the season. They were the last team in the ASC to fall.

Concordia remains on the road for a Wednesday contest at UT Dallas. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.