STEPHENVILLE – Before the season started, Misty Wilson and the TexAnns created a team philosophy of three simple words – selfless, relentless, unified – and Tarleton embodied every sense of those words Saturday afternoon by erasing a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off Cameron 90-89 in overtime.
 
"I thought they showed tremendous guts and unity – which is something we stress," said Wilson. "The bench never gave up, the staff never gave up, and the girls on the floor certainly never gave up."
 
After the first three quarters of play, Tarleton went into the fourth quarter trailing by 14 – which stretched to 17 just 31 seconds into the final frame after an Aggie three-ball – but a jumper by Tiara Tatum at the 9:19 mark kicked Tarleton's resilience into another gear.
 
The Tatum jumper started a 10-2 TexAnn run to cut the Aggie lead to single digits at 66-75 with 5:43 to go.
 
Cameron maintained its nine-point lead down to the 3:46 mark before a technical foul against the Aggie bench turned the tide. Mackenzie Hailey knocked down both free throws to cut the deficit to seven. Off the technical foul's new possession, Tarleton cashed in again on another jumper by Tatum to make it five-point affair with 2:48 left.
 
Tarleton forced a Cameron miss and turned it into a Travanti Downes layup on the other end to make it a 76-79 game. The TexAnns did it again on the next possession as a Mackenzie Hailey rebound on the defense end turned into an old-fashioned three-point play for Hailey on the offensive end to tie the game at 79-79 with 1:27 left. The teams traded a pair of points over the final stretch to send the game into overtime at 81-81.
 
After Tarleton built a lead as large as four in the overtime period, Cameron clawed back to go up two at 89-87 with 1:31 left in the game.
 
Enter true freshman, Kylie Collins.
 
The point guard from Mansfield stepped up and knocked down a three-pointer to give the TexAnns the final lead they would need at 90-89. It was her sixth point of the overtime frame and 14^th on the day in a career-high effort.
 
The TexAnns got a big defensive stand on the other end when Tatum took a crucial charge on the defensive end to give the ball back to Tarleton. Cameron couldn't get a full-court heave to fall and the TexAnns pulled off their second straight Lone Star Conference win.
 
Hailey led the team in scoring with her second straight double-double as the sophomore from Burleson scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. She also dished out three assists and grabbed three steals.
 
"She gives us a presence inside that people are having a hard time guarding," said Wilson about Hailey. "The thing about her is she can stretch the defense. She's physical and the things she is giving us are things that don't always show up on the stat sheet, but they make a huge difference for us in the game."
 
Travanti Downes and Collins also gave Tarleton a huge lift off the bench in 34 and 23 minutes of action, respectively. Downes scored 21 points while Collins poured in 14, including six in overtime and the ultimate game-winner.
 
"If people knew what Tori went through every day just to be able to practice, for her to come out and play 34 minutes is incredible," said Wilson. "She knows the game so well and did a great job of settling us down. I'm so excited for Kylie. The way she stepped up and hit those shots was great because it shows that she's not afraid of the moment."
 
Tatum and Ikpeaku Iwobi also cracked double figures with 11 points each while Bailey Wipff (6), Baylee Peck (2), Trejouir Wilson (1), and Ke'Aunna Johnson (1) rounded out the Tarleton scoring.
 
The TexAnns will look to continue their winning ways next week with a road trip to Western and Eastern New Mexico beginning Thursday night.