DURANT, Okla. – The Tarleton TexAnns had a 65-64 lead with 2:35 left to play in the game, but that would prove to me Tarleton's last lead of the game and the TexAnns dropped their first game of the season falling 72-68 to No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma on the roan at Bloomer Sullivan Arena in Durant, Okla.

The loss drops the TexAnns to 8-1 on the season as the Saverage Storm improved to 9-0 and stays undefeated on the young season.  With the loss, Tarleton's eight game winning streak comes to an end, tying the 1982-83 team with the best start to a season.

Brittnie Haley scored all 18 of her points in the second half and helped keep the game close for the TexAnns.  But in the end, it wasn't enough as SOSU's Destiny Brown matched Haley with a game-high 18 points as well.  Brown's lay-up and free throw with less than two minutes left in the game put the Savage Strom on top and SOSU never looked back.

Tarleton opened the game with a jumper from Sonya Sunberg and JoAnne Jones followed a few minutes later with a lay-up to give the TexAnns a quick 4-0 lead.  A lay-up from SOSU's Kacey Russell made it 4-2, but she was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to make it a 4-3 game. Jones then made one of two shots from the charity stripe to put the TexAnns on top 5-3.  That would turn out to be the only lead Tarleton would have in the first period.

SOSU went up by as many as eight points with 8:25 left on Elizabeth Dean's lay-up, but Tori Skarke countered with a three-pointer at the other end of the court and Sundberg converted two fast-break points following a steal to pull the TexAnns to within three points, down 20-17 with 7:44 left to play.

The Savage Storm's Whitney Coffey hit a jumper with 3:12 remaining to put SOSU back on top by five points, 24-19.  Tarleton followed with a 4-0 run to pull back within a point, but Russell hit an SOSU three-pointer and the Savage Storm went back on top 27-23 with 2:03 left to play. 

Skarke scored on a lay-up with 1:44 left to make it a 27-26 game, but SOSU's Jessica Hesse made both of her free throws after being fouled with 1:26 left to play in the period. A pair of missed shots from each team ran the clock all the way down to 15 seconds before Jones made a wide-open lay-up to make it a 29-28 game.  The TexAnns had an opportunity to take the lead at the half when Tara Towns got a steal off of Nikki Hester, but her layup rolled off the rim as time expired and Tarleton headed into the locker room down 29-28 at the break.

Jones led the TexAnns at the break with 11 points, while Skarke followed with 10 points.  Tarleton shot just .364 percent from the field but did manage to make 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

After tying the game 30-30 to open the second-half, Brittnie Haley made a lay-up to put the TexAnns on top for the first time since the opening five minutes of the game.  SOSU countered though on a lay-up from Russell to tie the score, 32-32.

Shelby Adamson made both her free throws with 16:50 left in the game to put the TexAnns back on top 34-32 and following a turnover at the other end of the court, Haley came back and made a pair of free throws to give Tarleton a 36-32 lead.  Hesse was fouled on the Savage Storm's ensuing possession, but her shot fell through the basket and she made her free throw attempt to pull SOSU back within a point, down 36-35 with 15:48 remaining in the half.

Down 38-36, the Savage Strom regained the lead on a three-pointer from Bailey Welch and Russell followed with another three pointer and SOSU led 41-38.  Haley made a lay-up at the other end to pull the TexAnns back to within a point, but Brown made a lay-up and converted the three-point play after being fouled to put SOSU back on top 44-40.  Adamson then countered with a three-pointer to make it a 44-43 game with 13:45 left to play.

Following a steal, Adamson tied the game on her lay-up with 13:20 left to play, but SOSU got three points at the other end of the court after going to the free throw line a couple of times.  Tarleton then went on a 6-0 run that ended with Morgan Stehling's three-pointer from the wing to put the TexAnns on top 51-48.

Adamson scored on another lay-up to give Tarleton a 53-51 lead as the shot clock was winding down, then with 9:35 left in the period, Jones converted a lay-up to go up 56-51.  SOSU countered though with a jumper from Nichols to make it a three-point game.

Just when it looked as if Tarleton would put the game in cruise-control as they have done throughout most of the season in the second-half, SOSU countered with a 6-0 run to regain the lead 57-56. Despite not making a field goal over the next four minutes, Tarleton took back the lead on a pair of free throws from Haley, but the Savage Storm countered with a three-pointer from Brown to go back on top 60-58 with 4:10 remaining in regulation.

In between a pair of free throws from Weldh, Haley made Tarleton's next five point to put the TexAnns on top 63-62.  Following a couple of missed opportunities from the free throw line by SOSU, Tarleton went on top 65-62 on a pair of free throws from Jones.  SOSU's Brown made a lay-up at the other end to make it a 65-64 game with 2:35 left to play.

Brown then converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:56 remaining to put SOSU on top 67-65.  Skarke was fouled at the other end, but she made just one of two from the charity stripe to make it a 67-66 game.  Then with 1:10 on the clock, Nichols hit an uncontested jumper from the wing to put SOSU on top 69-66. 

With less than 10 seconds on the clock, Sundberg missed a lay-up and the TexAnns were forced to foul with 7.3 seconds left in the game.  Nichols missed the first free throw but made the second to make it a 70-66 game.  The TexAnns inbounded the ball very quickly and Sundberg nailed a jumper from behind the free throw line to pull Tarleton within two points and the TexAnns had to quickly foul again.

Russell made both her shots and desperation shot from Lisa Parker as the clock wound down was no good and Tarleton dropped their first game of the season, 72-68.

Tarleton finished the game shooting .382 percent from the field on the night, while SOSU shot .408 from the field.

51 fouls were committed throughout the game and the TexAnns finished the game making 22-of-28 shots from the free throw line.  SOSU ended up making 26-of-38 from the charity stripe. 

The most lop-sided stat of the night was the fact that Tarleton had just six points off the bench while SOSU had 20.

The TexAnns will return to the court this Saturday when the team hosts Southwestern Oklahoma.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Wisdom Gym.