SAN ANGELO, Texas (February 27, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team played like its season was on the line and put together an inspired first three quarters, but the fourth quarter did not go as planned as the Falcons fell by a final score of 68-65 at Angelo State University in the final game of the regular season on Thursday night.

Despite the defeat, UTPB (13-15 overall, 11-11 Lone Star Conference) still qualifies for the LSC Tournament by virtue of Midwestern State University's 63-55 loss at home against No. 12 Lubbock Christian University.

The Falcons had one of their best offensive first quarters of the entire season, scoring 30 points and shooting 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from the field. Both teams were 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from three in the opening period. In the second quarter, however, the two teams combined for only 20 points.

UTPB led 18-13 after back-to-back 3-pointers by Morgan Helgesen and Makala Bingley, both on the assist by Taysha Rushton, forcing a timeout by the Rambelles. Then right after the timeout, an offensive foul on ASU led to another 3-pointer by Helgesen, once again assisted by Rusthon, to make it 21-13.

Helgesen's third 3-pointer of the first quarter made it 26-22 Falcons in the final two minutes, and then a 3-pointer by Diavian Spencer on another assist by Rusthon made it 29-24 approaching the 30-second mark of the opening period.

After ASU's Madi Lumsden hit her fourth 3-pointer of the first half early in the second quarter, Helgesen did the same to give UTPB a 33-27 lead three minutes into the period. Then a nice hesitation layup by Rushton just before the end of the half gave UTPB a 38-36 lead at the break.

The second quarter was the complete opposite of the first, with both teams shooting under 31 percent from the field and from three.

UTPB came out hot to start the second half, getting back-to-back layups by Khiara Flugence and a 3-pointer by Rushton, her first three of the game, to take a 45-36 lead.

Second chance points were a difference maker for much of the second half as the second second-chance layup by Flugence of the quarter gave UTPB the first double-digit lead of the game (49-38) for either team with 6:38 left in the third quarter.

Flugence would make four layups in the first five minutes of the third quarter, and then her third second-chance layup of the quarter made it 57-45 Falcons with two minutes left in the period.

Despite shooting just 1-for-8 from three in the period, UTPB was still able to outscore ASU 19-13 in the third quarter.

With UTPB leading 57-49 to start the fourth quarter, ASU cut it to five points (57-52) with an and-one within the first 30 seconds of the period before Rushton sank a 3-pointer for the Falcons' first basket of the final period just over two minutes in.

The 3-pointer by Rushton extended UTPB's lead back to eight points (60-52), but the Falcons went into a lengthy scoring drought while ASU cut its deficit to just three points (60-57) with a big 3-pointer from the top of the key with under six minutes remaining.

In a crucial final five minutes, a turnover on a bad pass by the Falcons led to the fifth foul of the game by Flugence, and then the Belles took advantage of her absence in the paint with a quick layup by Keniah Williams to make it just a one-point game (60-59) approaching the four-minute mark.

Another layup by Williams gave ASU its first lead of the second half (61-60) with three and a half minutes to go, and after Rushton answered with a 3-pointer, the Belles tied it at 63-63 with a two-point jumper with under three minutes remaining. Rushton's three was just the second made basket of the fourth quarter for the Falcons, breaking a nearly five-minute scoring drought.

After three straight misses from three by the Falcons, ASU freshman Taylor Grona connected from long range to break the tie. It would be the most crucial shot of the game.

After a timeout by the Rambelles, UTPB got a layup by Kamari Portalis, but Williams and ASU continued to take advantage of Flugence's absence in the paint and got another layup to make it 68-65 and prompt a UTPB timeout with 1:11 remaining.

Williams would effectively seal the game with a block on Rushton's turnaround jumper in the paint with just under 40 seconds left, and then after a defensive stop by the Falcons, a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer by Avalon Munoz was all she wrote.

UTPB closed the game by making just one of its last seven shots while ASU made five of its last six to earn the win.

UTPB was just 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from the field and 2-for-10 (20 percent) from three in the fourth quarter while ASU shot 57.1 percent (8-14) in the final period and 50 percent (13-26) for the second half.

ASU turned the ball over 23 times, leading to a 21-12 advantage in points off turnovers for the Falcons, who also led 15-10 on the offensive glass and led 19-8 on second chance points.

With just a 4-for-9 mark from the free throw line, it was the eighth time this season the Falcons were held to single digits in free throw makes.

After scoring 18 points in the first half, Helgesen was held to just two points in the second half. Helgesen was 8-for-21 from the field and 4-for-14 from three after going 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-8 from three in the first half. She also added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. After entering the game with 992 career points, Helgesen scored UTPB's first two baskets of the game, and then her second 3-pointer of the game with four minutes to go in the first quarter gave her 1,000 career points. She is the second five-year Falcon to reach the 1,000-career point threshold this season.

Rushton scored 14 points on 4-for-17 shooting overall and 3-for-10 shooting from three. She also dished out seven assists.

Flugence was 7-for-11 from the field and recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but her absence in the paint in the final minutes was noticeable.

For ASU, Williams scored 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field and added four blocks while Lumsden scored all 15 of her points in the first half after making five 3-pointers.

It was a good effort for the Falcons against a Rambelles' team that ranks second in the LSC averaging 69.5 points per game and is first in the conference and top-15 in the nation in rebounding at 42.3 a contest.

Despite falling in its regular-season finale at ASU for the third season in a row, UTPB is headed to the postseason. The Falcons tied with Midwestern (13-15, 11-11) for the eighth and final spot in the LSC tournament, but held the tiebreaker over the Mustangs.

The Lone Star Conference Tournament quarterfinals are set for Thursday, March 6, at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The bracket / seeding for the 2025 LSC Women's Basketball Tournament, including UTPB's opponent, will be released by the Conference Office on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. Central Time.

It is the second year in a row and the second time in school history that the UTPB women's basketball team has clinched a spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament.