BIG SPRING— The South Plains College Lady Texans fell to the Howard Lady Hawks 63-59 in overtime Thursday night in Big Spring.

Howard jumped out to a 19-6 lead after the first ten minutes of the contest, but South Plains (13-8, 1-4) answered back and outscored the Lady Hawks 37-21 over the next 20 minutes to take a 43-40 lead into the fourth quarter.

Both teams traded baskets in the final frame to extend the game into overtime, and a late surge from Howard (14-6, 4-1) was enough to cap off a four-point conference victory.

"This was a tough loss for us, but you can't come out on the road and get down 21-6 and expect to win," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "We have to do a better job and be more prepared to play, because the WJCAC conference is one of the toughest in the country. Howard is a really good team, and we have to do better."

Freshman guard Elizabateh Cera finished with 14 points and four assists in the contest, while Jasmyne Martin went 7-for-13 from the floor and finished with 14 points and five boards for the Lady Texans. Dabraisia Baty finished with 10 points and three assists for South Plains, and Ramiah Henry chipped in nine points and hauled in five rebounds.

The Lady Texans will look to get back in the win column on Monday night when they square off with Clarendon with tipoff set for 5:45 p.m.