POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State women's basketball team (3-3, 0-1 SAC) took to the road Thursday night for the conference opener at College of the Ozarks (3-2, 1-0) where the Aggies were defeated, 70-54.
 
The trio of Tryssa Dowd, Mar'kia Pratt and Emily Bray combined for an efficient shooting night of 18-for-27 from the floor, but their efforts were spoiled by a burst of third-quarter scoring from the Bobcats.
 
Undeterred by an early 5-0 hole to open the game, a Dowd layup and a Pratt three-pointer, aided by good ball movement, provided an answer to tie the game at 5-5.

Efficient shot-making throughout the first period was hindered by too many turnovers, but the defense remained solid to keep the Aggies within striking distance. Bray got going late in the quarter and Nala Taylor beat the buzzer with a dribble-up left-wing three that drew the Aggies to within one, 15-14, through 10 minutes.

After the visitors took a one-point lead following a steal and layup to start the second period, Ozarks went back up six, 22-16, a few minutes later. Pratt drilled another three and the offense started to flow again for Panhandle State, though, tightening the game and making it a back-and-forth contest going into the break.

Bray found Dowd for a jumper to tie the game instantly out of halftime at 31, but the Bobcats' offense started to click at a high rate as they raced to a 43-33 lead. C of O did not let up, extending their advantage to 16, 58-42, by quarter's end.

Dowd quickly brought the Aggies back to within 10 by scoring on three consecutive possessions in the post en route to tallying the team's first eight points in the fourth. OPSU ran out of gas down the stretch, however, ultimately unable to overcome the deficit it fell into during the third period.
 
Dowd scored 16 points and collected six rebounds, trailing only freshman classmate Pratt's 18 points for Panhandle State in the scoring column.
 
La'Tommas Johnson-Nash was active on the court, grabbing nine boards and dishing out four assists to notch the game-high in both categories.
 
What's up next: OPSU completes its two-game road trip to begin SAC play by heading to John Brown University (3-4, 1-0) on Saturday with an adjusted tipoff time of 12 noon.