WITCHITA FALLS – Tarleton's attempt at a third straight Lone Star Conference win came up short as the TexAnns dropped a road contest to Midwestern State 56-52.
 
The TexAnns were down by as many as 11 points in the first quarter when they went 3-of-11 from the floor.
 
Tarleton was able to close the first half on a 10-2 run with Raven McGrath drained a three-pointer in the final seconds to send the TexAnns to the locker room down 28-26. Tarleton shot 46 percent in the second quarter and outscored the Mustangs 17-12.
 
Defensively, the TexAnns forced 25 turnovers to keep them in the game late. The Mustangs led 42-36 with two minutes left in the third quarter when Tarleton's full-court press defense forced back-to-back turnovers that led to layups by Morgan Ashmore and Travanti Downes. MSU led 42-40 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Tarleton (8-7, 2-3) trailed through the first three quarters and took its first lead at 48-47 on a pair of free throws by Ikpeaku Iwobi with 4:43 left.
 
The TexAnns would take their biggest lead of the game at 52-48 when Ashmore blocked a MSU shot and passed to Raven McGrath for a layup with 3:20 remaining. The TexAnns were outscored 8-0 in the final three minutes of the game and went 0-7 from the floor during that stretch.
 
Tarleton had nine players score in the game but none in double figures. It was the first game all season where the TexAnns didn't have a player reach at least 10 points. McGrath, Iwobi and Bailey Wipff all scored eight points. Iwobi was Tarleton's leading rebounder with six rebounds and four steals. Ashmore and Breanna Fuller put up seven points apiece and Averie Mack added six.
 
The TexAnns return home to take on Texas Woman's on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.