As part of their final two games before conference play begins, Women's Basketball fell to Howard Payne 58-54. The Celts had a strong first half before a dominant Yellow Jacket third quarter began to put the game out of reach. 

The first quarter saw St. Thomas dominate Howard Payne. A nine point scoring run with 11 points from Taytum Poppe gave the Celts the 15-6 lead at the end of the quarter. However, in the second period, the Yellowjackets turned on the offensive and dropped 13 points. Yet, this was not enough to catch the lead put on by the Celts as St. Thomas took a 23-19 lead into the locker room. In the third quarter, the Celts struggled to get anything going offensively. Only adding five points to their total against Howard Payne's 20, seven HP fast breaks powered an offensive quarter. Finally in the fourth, the lead proved to be too much. Although the Celts outscored the yellowjackets 26-19, time expired for any chance at a comeback as Howard Payne won 58-54. 

Offensively, Taytum Poppe continued her strong freshman season with 18 points, while Aaliyah Macias and Nia McGree notched two assists each. Defensively, Poppe secured a double double with 10 rebounds, and Hayden Morin had five steals. 

Up next, Women's Basketball finishes their non-conference schedule against Sul Ross State tomorrow. Follow UST athletics for all scores and updates.