Point Lookout, MO - Following a 53-38 win over the Drovers of University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma on Thursday, the Lady Cats returned to action at home on Saturday to host the Rams of Texas Wesleyan University.

The Lady Cats set the tone early with a pair of free throws and a bucket by Susie Moran, a pair from the charity stripe by Abbey Linville, and buckets by Linville and Blythe Benefield. The Lady Cats held an early 10-2 lead and continued to apply pressure. The Rams got their offense on track to get back into contention but baskets by Moran, Keara Mattingly, and Benefield gave the Lady Cats a 17-13 advantage at the quarter break.

Moran opened the scoring in the second frame and a pair of baskets by Logan Jones opened the lead to 23-15 with 6:36 left to play in the half. Moran added another basket and Allyssa Joiner jumped into the scoring column with a deep three to put the Lady Cats up 28-15. The Lady Cat attack continued to keep the Rams off balance and Moran and Joiner teamed up for the next six Lady Cat points to bump the lead to 35-18 with 2:00 left in the half. A Taylor Rush three and a Keara Mattingley bucket closed out the scoring in the first half and the lead was 40-21 at the intermission.

A Taylor Rush three greeted the Rams out of the locker room and the Lady Cats were looking to put the game out of reach. Susie Moran and Blythe Benefield, put up the next eight Lady Cat points to answer the challenges of the Rams and Avery Arnold scored to maintain a 53-30 Lady Cat advantage and force a Rams timeout. Arnold drained a deep three out of the huddle and the Lady Cats continued to roll. The Rams refused to go away and battled through the third quarter, but playing even was all they could manage as the Lady Cats took a 60-37 lead to the third quarter break.

The Rams scored the first nine points of the final stanza, and they were looking to make a push in the remaining 10 minutes. A Susie Moran bucket ended the run, but the Rams answered with a deep three to cut the lead to 62-49. The Rams turned up the defensive pressure and the Lady Cats struggled to put points on the board. The lead was soon cut to 62-53 and the Lady Cats took a timeout to regroup. With 5:05 remaining in the contest, the Lady Cats needed to get back on track offensively ad turn up the defense on the other end. A Taylor Rush fastbreak layup broke the Lady Cat silence out of the huddle, and she followed with a three on the next possession to bump the lead back to 67-53. Keara Mattingley added a traditional three-point play and the Lady Cats had reclaimed the momentum. With 2:50 remaining, a Rams traditional three-point play cut the lead to 70-56 and a bucket on their next possession made the deficit manageable. The Lady Cats needed to protect the ball and continue to attack, while running the clock down. A pair of Rams free throws were followed by a Susie Moran basket and 1:11 remaining for the Lady Cats to run off. A Blythe Benefield free throw bumped the score to 73-61 before a foul and a bench technical on the Rams resulted in four Taylor Rush free throws and a 77-61 lead with :39.9 showing on the clock. Susie Moran added to her total with a basket and a Lady Cat steal sealed the 79-61 win.

Susie Moran led the Lady Cats with 29 points and 22 rebounds. Taylor Rush followed with 15, Blythe Benefield added nine, Keara Mattingley tacked on six, Allyssa Joiner added five and Logan Jones and Abbey Linville chipped in four points each.

The Lady Cats return to action at home Thursday, December 12 at 6 pm against Langston University.