Women's Basketball traveled to Houston Christian on Tuesday night to face off with the Division I Huskies. The Celts battled throughout and kept it close in the first half before ultimately falling by a final score of 79-49.

St. Thomas opened the game with a strong seven minutes, taking an early lead behind a pair of jumpers from Ravyn Ellis and only trailing by one late in the first quarter. However, HCU dominated the end of the quarter and led 19-12 after one. Sydnee Smith went on a personal 5-0 run early in the second quarter to cut the deficit to six, but that was as close as the Celts would get. Still, a balanced effort kept the Celts in the game against the D-I Huskies through the end of the half, as HCU led 36-25 at the intermission.

The Huskies took over in the second half, holding UST to their lowest-scoring quarter of the game in the third quarter and effectively putting the game away. Ellis and Hayden Morin hit some shots to keep the scoreboard moving, but HCU pulled away with 23 points in the quarter and led 59-36 after three. The fourth quarter featured more of the same, as the Husky lead swelled to as much as 39. Macie Whitfield scored 6 points in an 8-0 run for the Celts to close the game, but it wasn't enough to overcome a clinical second half from the Huskies.

Ravyn Ellis posted a team-high 12 points and 8 rebounds. Macie Whitfield also had a strong night with 11 points and 8 rebounds of her own.

The Celts travel next to Jackson, Mississippi for the Millsaps Classic. They play host Millsaps on Saturday at 1:00. Follow ustcelts.com for all scores and updates.