ODESSA, Texas (November 9, 2024) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team played the No. 23-ranked team in the D2CSC preseason poll, Colorado Mesa University, and had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer on the final possession, but was unable to do so in a 79-76 defeat to the Mavericks on Saturday evening inside the Falcon Dome.

Makala Bingley was 5-for-8 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points to lead the Falcons in scoring.

Taysha Rushton added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, and was 8-for-14 from the field.

Avalon Munoz was a beast at getting to the free throw line, finishing 8-for-10 there while scoring 12 points and adding a team-high seven rebounds and a game-high six assists.

The fourth and final Falcon to reach double figures in scoring was Khiara Flugence, who carved out her space in the paint, was the beneficiary of several of the assists from Munoz and Rushton, and finished with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field.

UTPB started the game by making each of its first three shots to take an 8-0 lead after 3-pointers by Morgan Helgesen and Bingley.

In all, the Falcons scored 19 points in the first six minutes of the game before ending the opening period with a 27-19 lead.

UTPB shot a blistering 9-for-13 (69.23 percent) overall and 5-for-6 (83.33 percent) from three in the first quarter, and then shot at least 50 percent from the field in both the third and fourth quarters.

CMU was able to keep it close in the first quarter after going 10-for-12 (83.33 percent) from the free throw line, and then was perfect the rest of the way finishing 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) at the charity stripe while UTPB was 17-for-24 (70.8 percent).

Despite UTPB leading for over 16 minutes in the first half, the Mavericks were able to take over the lead in the second quarter and go up by four (42-38) at the break after a 3-pointer by Riley Hayes in the final 70 seconds.

It was the third 3-pointer of the second quarter for Hayes, but it would not be her last of the night.

In all, CMU outscored UTPB 23-11 in the second quarter before the two teams basically traded baskets the rest of the way.

After five lead changes in the third quarter, UTPB opened the fourth quarter with a layup by Rushton to tie it at 58-58.

Despite UTPB's best efforts in the fourth quarter, Hayes was a menace, sinking three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the period to give CMU a 67-60 lead. It was the largest lead of the night for Colorado Mesa.

Three straight free throws and a 3-pointer by Bingley got the Falcons to within one (67-66) with six minutes left to play before Hayes answered by connecting on her fourth 3-pointer of the fourth quarter on the next possession.

UTPB would get back to within one of the Mavericks three more times in the final five minutes of the game, but a missed two-point jumper by Munoz facing a 3-point deficit (79-76) in the final minute meant the Falcons needed a stop on defense to get a shot to try and tie it.

The Falcons got the stop they needed, and after a timeout with 18 seconds left, looked to get the ball to one of their shooters.

Instead, both the on-ball defense and ball denial from CMU was excellent, forcing Rushton to take an off-balance shot from two in the final seconds, and that was not going to be enough for the Falcons to even it even if it went in.

Both Rushton and Bingley scored eight points for the Falcons in the fourth quarter.

Bench points were 30-9 in favor of the Mavericks, who also had 11 offensive rebounds and outscored the Falcons by an 18-2 margin on second chance points. Two of those second chance points came on a putback layup by Olivia Reed to make it 79-76 entering the final minute. The key player for the Mavericks off the bench was Hayes, who was 8-for-19 from three and led all players with 24 points.

Both teams move to 1-1 overall after the D2 Conference Challenge.

It was a strong showing for the Falcons against a Mavericks team that has been ranked No. 23 in the D2CSC preseason poll and No. 3 behind Texas Woman's University and Lubbock Christian University in the D2CSC preseason South Central Regional rankings. Mesa was also ranked No. 21 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) preseason rankings and was picked by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference coaches to repeat as RMAC champions.

"I'm really proud of our team," spoke Head Coach Rae Boothe. "We played well, we fought, and we stayed together. My heart hurts for our players that we lost by one possession. Give credit to Mesa, they are a great team and showed why there are picked first in the RMAC. It was a great test for us early that showed a lot of positives and areas that we need to improve on."

Next up, the Falcons will remain at home next week to host Arlington Baptist University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12, inside the Falcon Dome.