CANYON, Texas (November 29, 2025) – After coming back from behind eight points to take a two-point lead at halftime, the UT Permian Basin women's basketball team was outscored 22-13 in a decisive third quarter and fell 61-50 against Adams State University during the final game of the WT Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday.

It was the second year in a row UTPB (3-3 overall) battled ASU (5-3) in its final game of the tournament at West Texas A&M University after falling to the Grizzlies 96-83 in the opening round of the NCAA South Central Regional to end the 2023-24 season.

This season, the Grizzlies have been receiving votes in each WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll so far in the early portion of the year. In 2024-25, the Grizzlies went 19-12 overall while also making their second straight regional appearance.

Today's game was a story of two halves. The first half was an extremely competitive and defensive game with neither offense truly clicking. This changed in the second half as the Grizzlies' offense was able to get rolling.

Both teams shot at least 40 percent in the first quarter while UTPB sank a pair of 3-pointers by Waikimihia Douglas-Karauna and Jonesha Neal. However, the Falcons did not go to the free throw line until 4:40 into the second quarter, while ASU shot 5-for-6 from the line in the first quarter and was 4-for-4 in the second quarter.

ASU turned five Falcon turnovers into six points off turnovers in the first quarter, and had two offensive rebounds leading to four second chance points.

There were four ties and five lead changes in the first quarter.

After a two-point jumper by Kenadi Rising assisted by Jasmin Holt to tie it at 14-14 just 10 seconds into the second quarter, ASU scored the next seven points on the second 3-pointer of the game by Ashiian Hunter, a second-chance layup by Jada Price, and two free throws by Taejhuan Hill.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ja'Nya Thomas helped cut an eight-point deficit (25-17) to a two-point margin (25-23) going into the final two minutes before halftime.

In the final minute, a layup by Juliet Esomchukwu assisted by Holt tied it at 25-25, and then after a steal by Madison Walters in the final 30 seconds, Mikalah Buckley banked in a pullup jumper to give the Falcons a 27-25 lead at the break.

The Falcons were 6-for-9 (66.7 percent) from the field with two more 3-pointers in the second quarter, putting them at 55 percent shooting (11-of-20) for the first half. ASU, meanwhile, was just 3-for-10 from the field in the second quarter and was shooting just 35 percent (7-of-20) at the break, but was still in the game thanks to a 9-for-10 mark from the charity stripe.

After the 10-0 Falcons' run to end the first half, however, UTPB made just four field goals in each of the final two quarters and combined to shoot just 1-for-7 from three. ASU, meanwhile, shot an epic 75 percent (9-12) from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three in the third quarter. Offensively, the Grizzlies really clicked in the second half, scoring 36 of their 61 points in the third and fourth quarters.

UTPB trailed by as many as 10 points on two occasions in the third quarter, and trailed by eight (50-42) after an and-one by the Grizzlies' Elania Watson a minute and a half into the fourth quarter. However, starting at the 6:30 mark, a personal 6-0 run for Douglas-Karauna ending with a fastbreak layup after a steal by Holt made it just a two-point deficit (50-48) still with over five minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, the Falcons would go scoreless over the final three and a half minutes of the game and were 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-3 from three with two turnovers during that span. In all, UTPB turned it over eight times in the fourth quarter. For the game, the Falcons finished with 21 turnovers and trailed 27-10 in points off turnovers while the Grizzlies collected 16 steals, led by Watson with six. Behind its strong defensive play, the Grizzlies were able to hold the Falcons' offense to 15 points or less in every single quarter. Despite the defensive effort by ASU, UTPB finished with its highest field goal percentage (46.3 percent) of the season so far.

Douglas-Karauna led the Falcons with 14 points on efficient 5-for-7 shooting from the field and was followed by Thomas with 11 points on three 3-pointers. Holt would finish with five assists.

"Adams State is a very good team who will again likely be in the NCAA Tournament," spoke UTPB Head Coach Rae Boothe. "We competed with them for the majority of the game. They made plays down the stretch and we didn't. We are learning every day and starting to see the pieces come together. Waikimihia had a great overall game and Thomas hit some big shots. Our nonconference schedule was challenging, but I am confident that it will serve us well for Lone Star Conference play that starts next week."

Next up, UTPB will have a challenging Lone Star Conference opener as the Falcons square off against No. 6 nationally-ranked Lubbock Christian University starting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3.