Oklahoma City, Okla. - The first post-season competition for the Oklahoma Panhandle State University women's basketball team in 13 years came to an end in the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament with a 78-45 loss at No. 1-seed Oklahoma City University. The Aggies finish the year 14-15, matching the most wins in the program since the 2007-08 campaign.
 
"We came out and battled," OPSU Head Coach Victor Esparza said. "I thought we played really hard. Our defense was good most of the game Their size advantage was too much in the second half. I was proud of our girls' effort."
 
After one quarter, the Aggies found themselves down by a 15-11 score and trailed at the half, 32-23. Taylor Acosta almost single-handedly helped to keep OPSU in the game in the early going, hitting 5-for-11 from the field, all from three-point range.  The rest of the Panhandle squad was a combined 3-for-22 from the floor in the opening half.
 
The Stars extended that advantage in the second half, outscoring the Aggies 22-8 in the third period to lead by 23 points (54-31) heading into the final quarter.
 
Much as in the first two meetings during the regular season, Panhandle State struggled to deter the Stars' strong inside game, as the hosts held a 28-2 advantage on points in the paint. Likewise, OPSU was unable to get many attempts from the free throw line, going 5-of-6, and did not even take an attempt until the 5:26 juncture of the fourth quarter (compared to OCU going 2-for-28 from the charity stripe).
 
The Aggies sparsity of free throws was likely correlated to the fact that the Aggies were 2-of-21 on two-point shot attempts for the game, and used a long-range attack of 12-for-42 from beyond the arc.
 
The senior guard Acosta capped her Panhandle State career with a game-leading 17 points, 15 coming in the first half alone. Acosta was 5-of-16 from the field overall, 5-of-14 from long range. She also had three rebounds and two assists, as the only Aggie in double figures.
 
Junior Addison Munsch added seven points and grabbed five rebounds. Naomi Rodriguez booked six points and senior Monti Regier four.  Kyle Baker, Kaylee Morgan and senior Shambri Kelso finished with three pints, apiece. Samantha Davis has a pair of free throws to round out the OPSU scoring.
 
Senior Hannah Faulks had a game-high nine rebounds, while also dishing off three assists, in her collegiate finale.
 
"Our program took a big step in rebuilding this year," Esparza reflected. "The future is bright for us. We are going to miss our seniors; they really put it on the line this season."