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HOUSTON – Leading by one entering the fourth quarter, HBU ran into a more aggressive Stephen F. Austin defense as the Huskies were outscored 22-7 in the quarter and lost to SFA, 64-50, before 897 fans in Sharp Gym.

Monet Neal paced HBU (10-11 overall, 5-6 SLC) with a team-high 18 points. It was one shy of her season high of 19 that she hit at Texas Southern on Dec. 5. Heidi Sihvola came off the bench to score 13 points. Anna Strickland's streak of consecutive double-doubles was halted at nine games as she finished with six points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Veronika Kirienko and Kennedy Collins each came off the bench and provided some needed depth with some players in foul trouble. They finished with a combined five points, six rebounds, and one blocked shot in 11 minutes. As a team, HBU shot 33 percent from the floor.

Taylor Ross scored a game-high 25 points to lead SFA (11-10, 5-5), while Chanell Hayes followed with 12. Both Kennedy Harris and Charisma Alexander pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds. The Ladyjacks as a team shot 43 percent from the floor.

SFA led much of the first quarter, with a lead as big as five, before HBU scored five unanswered in under three minutes to tie the game at 14-all with 56 seconds left in the quarter, highlighted by a Sihvola three-pointer.

Leading by two entering the second quarter, SFA opened the second frame on a 7-1 run to take a 23-15 lead. The Ladyjacks increased their lead by as many as 10, 30-20, before HBU closed the first half on a 9-0 run to trail at the break by one, 30-29. SFA called a timeout with 2:21 left to try to stop the bleeding and with a five-point lead, but free throws by Rachel Arthur and a Sihvola jumper gave HBU momentum into the locker room.

Neal led HBU with 10 first-half points, while Ross had eight for the Ladyjacks. The teams were even in the first 20 minutes, as HBU shot 36 percent from the floor compared to 35 percent for SFA.

A Sihvola jumper 1:03 into the third quarter gave HBU its first lead of the game, 31-30, but was quickly answered by back-to-back three-pointers by Paulletta Powell and Ross for a five-point SFA lead, 36-31. The two teams battled back and forth, with SFA leading by no more than three and HBU getting no closer than one, before a Sihvola jumper with 1:14 remaining in the quarter gave HBU a 43-42 lead.

HBU couldn't get shots to fall in the fourth quarter, as the Huskies shot 23 percent (3-for-13) in the quarter compared to 78 percent (7-for-9) for SFA. HBU came as close as three, 48-45, following a Meghan Shank jumper at the 6:48-mark, but the Ladyjacks closed the game on a 16-5 run.

Neal and Sihvola each scored eight points in the second half for HBU, while Ross dropped 17 to lead the Ladyjacks.

HBU hosts Lamar on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in Sharp Gym. It will be the annual "Play 4 Kay" game where fans are urged to wear pink. Ticket proceeds will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.