LAKEWOOD, COLORADO - #7 ranked UT Tyler women's basketball fell to CSU Pueblo on Friday afternoon by a score of 59-58 after the Thunderwolves got a late steal and a layup with just nine seconds left to take the close win.
 
The Patriots shot just 37.1% from the floor for the game and 25% from beyond the arc as they struggled to find a rhythm in the late moments.
 
The two teams faced seven different ties and four different lead changes in the contest as nobody led by more than eight points in the entirety of the game.
 
CSU Pueblo jumped out to the early 6-0 lead and held an 8-3 lead just over three minutes into the game as they held control. However, a three pointer from Lovisa Hevinder and a layup from Ella Bradley quickly tied the game back up. The lead for the Thunderwolves never reached higher than four points for the remainder of the quarter as the Patriots continued to knock down key shots to keep them within striking distance.
 
An 8-5 run to open up the second quarter stretched the lead to four for the Thunderwolves, but both teams switched on the defense to the tune of a near three minute scoreless stretch as neither offense found their footing. That streak was broken by CSU Pueblo free throws, and they went on another key 8-4 run to push their lead to eight before a clutch three pointer from Montse Gutierrez cut the lead down to five heading into halftime.
 
A Tina Machalova layup cut the lead down to three to open up the second half, but again the Thunderwolves had the big answers every time the Patriots found a footing. A Meagan Mendazona three pointer cut the lead to four, and the lead never grew larger over the entire third quarter as Ella Bradley came up with three big points to tie the game up at the 3:11 mark of the quarter.\
 
The Thunderwolves responded with their own jumper to take the lead back, but Frances King turned on a five point run by herself to give the Patriots the three point advantage with just over two minutes left in the third.
 
Heading into the fourth, the two teams traded buckets to begin, but two monster three pointers from Hevinder gave them their largest lead of the night at six points with 7:48 left in the game. The Thunderwolves would not be deterred, as they embarked on a 7-0 run themselves to regain the lead with 2:33 remaining.
 
Hevinder again came up big with 44 seconds left as her layup went down to give the Patriots the one point lead. With 13 seconds left however, the Patriots turned the ball over and the Thunderwolves were able to run the other way and get the layup to fall with nine seconds left to ultimately give them the win as the Patriots could not get the shot up at the buzzer.
 
Ella Bradley led the Patriots with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and three rebounds. Lovisa Hevinder posted 13 points and Machalova added in 10.
 
Hevinder grabbed a team high seven rebounds while Machalova and Mendazona each totaled a team high three steals.
 
#7 UT Tyler will have a quick rebound as they take the floor at 4 p.m. CST against Colorado Christian on Saturday afternoon in Lakewood, Colorado.