ODESSA, Texas (January 29, 2026) – Both UT Permian Basin and Angelo State University began the day tied for eighth place in the Lone Star Conference women's basketball standings, representing the potential final spot in next month's LSC Tournament, but in the end, the Falcons fell by a final score of 60-51 against the Rambelles.

It was the beginning of a three-game homestand for UTPB (11-9 overall, 6-6 LSC), which has now lost three straight games after defeating Angelo State (9-9, 7-5) on the road just 17 days ago, the first win for the Falcons on the road at ASU since November 18, 2014. ASU, meanwhile, which reached the .500 mark for the first time this season, has now won four straight games since losing to UTPB, and has now surpassed the Falcons in the conference standings.

It was 30-30 going into what was ultimately a very low-scoring third quarter that saw just seven combined points in the first five minutes and just eight points for both teams overall. UTPB was held scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the period, but was able to held ASU scoreless from the 6:53 mark until the final seconds of the quarter when a 3-pointer by Taylor Grona just before the buzzer to end the quarter made it 38-38 going into the fourth quarter.

The third quarter also saw UTPB take its first lead of the game at 36-35 after a 3-pointer by Rihanna DeLeon with four minutes left in the period. Then approaching the two-minute mark, an athletic block by Madison Walters led to a layup by Crystal Jones to make it a 38-35 Falcons' lead before Grona's game-tying 3-pointers two minutes later.

A back-and-forth fourth quarter then ensued with nine lead changes in the first six minutes of the period.

Neither team led by more than two points in the fourth quarter until the 3:25 mark when a layup by the Rambelles' Kenna Wood made it 52-48.

UTPB cut its deficit to 53-51 after a free throw by Jasmin Holt with 2:17 remaining, but Wood cleared the defensive rebound on a miss on the second free throw shot by Holt and then answered with another layup on the other end.

That was the start of a 7-0 run to end the game for the Rambelles as the Falcons went 0-for-3 from the field and 0-for-2 from three with two turnovers in the final two minutes.

The UTPB offense picked the worst time to go cold, missing its final seven shots from the field in the final four minutes of the game, leading to some tough possessions in the final two minutes.

Walters led UTPB in points (13) and steals (5), and tied with Jonesha Neal for the team lead in rebounds (8). Neal also led UTPB with four assists.

Jones had her best game as a Falcon, scoring nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.

While UTPB was cold to end the game, ASU finished the fourth quarter with 22 points, nearly matching its fourth-quarter total (28 points) from the pervious game this season between the two teams.

UTPB shot just 31.0 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three in this one, representing a complete 180 form the first matchup between the teams when the Falcons completed over 50 percent of their shots from the field, including almost 48 percent from beyond the arc.

The Falcons are back in Odessa, Texas, next week for a pair of home games against Sul Ross State University (Thursday, Feb. 5) and Western New Mexico University (Saturday, Feb. 7). It will be the lone matchup between UTPB and both of those teams this season.