Eagles force overtime against Xavier before falling short at home

A&M-Texarkana battled hard with Xavier (La.) on Saturday in a defensive slugfest at the Patterson Center, forcing overtime before a lack of depth eventually led to a 57-48 loss. Just six players saw the floor for the Eagles (9-7, 6-4 RRAC) and the team managed to shoot just 32 percent from the floor (16-of-50). Kayla Williams led the team with 15 points and nine rebounds, Delfina Misiuna added 14 points and vie boards, while Jaslyn Woods added 10 points.

Xavier (12-4, 9-2 RRAC) wasn't any better from an offensive standpoint, shooting a woeful 26.4 percent on 19-of-72 attempts, including just 3-of-20 from long range. Taylor Dewitt led the Gold Nuggets with 14 and Shylia McGee added 12 points.

Xavier attempted 22 more shots, thanks largely in part to a plus-14 rebounding advantage (44-30). The Eagles managed just six points from its bench, compared to 26 points by Xavier, who also scored 29 points off 24 TAMUT turnovers.

The game included a total of 11 ties and 15 lead changes. The Eagles led 11-10 after one but trailed 21-20 at the break and 34-32 entering the fourth. After forcing overtime at 45-45, the Eagles were outscored 12-3 in the bonus period.

The Eagles have three straight games coming up against Louisiana opponents, starting Thursday on the road against Louisiana Christian (5:30 pm) and Saturday at LSU-Alexandria (2 pm). They return home Jan. 30 to host LSU-Shreveport.