THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Junior Liz Cathcart dropped 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting but another cold second half cost Midwestern State a victory in a 58-54 loss to Texas Wesleyan in Friday's home opener at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
MSU Texas shot just 7.1 percent from beyond the arc, going 1-of-14, coming on a first quarter trey by senior Chelcie Kizart.
 
Sophomore Hannah Reynolds neared a double-double for the third-straight game. Reynolds scored nine points on 4-of-9 shooting while pulling down a season-high 11 rebounds and rejecting four shots.
 
Junior Mica Schneider had her best defensive night on the glass, grabbing a season-best six boards with seven points.
 
The gutsy individual performances by the Maroon and Gold were overshadowed by the Lady Rams' Nicole Gleason (19 points) and Jordan Brightwell (14 points). Gleason did the majority of her damage from beyond the arc, connecting on 4-of-14 triples while Brightwell shot 54.5 percent from the floor.
 
With just over a minute to play, Cathcart hit a jumper from the elbow to stake the Mustangs their final lead of the night, up 52-51. Brightwell converted went 1-for-2 at the free throw line on the other end to draw even.
 
After a missed 3-pointer from Schneider and a timeout, Texas Wesleyan's Lexi Burns stepped into a triple from the left wing to give the Rams the lead for good with 29 seconds to play.
 
Brightwell and Burns combined to go 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 10-seconds to prevent the comeback from MSU Texas.
 
GAME NOTES
- Midwestern State starts the season 0-3 for the first time since the 2009-10 season
- The Mustangs have lost all three games by a combined 10 points
- MSU Texas shot better than 40.0 percent for the second time this season (42.9 vs. OC) and won the rebounding battle, 38-32
- The Mustangs went to the free throw line just eight times
- MSU Texas shot 1-for-14 from beyond the arc
- Junior Liz Cathcart scored a career-best 18, topping a previous personal best of 16 set against Western New Mexico on Feb. 17, 2017
 
UP NEXT
MSU Texas wraps up play at the Ashbrook Classic Presented by Comfort Inn tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Dallas Christian at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.