COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women senior Terryonte Thomas – a native of Columbus, Miss. – went off for 33 points in his debut for The W versus Rhodes College. Unfortunately for the Owls, Thomas' efforts were not enough as the team lost a heartbreaking 77-75 decision to the Lynx at Pohl Gym.
 
Thomas, who was cleared to join the team after the first semester, hit an Owls' season game scoring high, thanks to his 12-for-20 shooting effort from the field. Among those makes were a 6-of-8 afternoon from beyond the three-point arc. He finished the game with a double-double, after also pulling down a team-best 11 rebounds.
 
Thomas dished off five assists, as well.
 
As a team, The W showed ample grit as it fought its way back from a 16-point deficit with 15:49 left in the game. The Owls looked as though they might be on course to register their first win of the year with 40 seconds remaining, when Shon Wright drained a three-point basket from in front of The W's bench. That gave The W its first lead of the game, 75-74.
 
With 22 seconds left, the Lynx missed two short jumpers in the paint, with MUW's Dariun Doss corralling the defensive rebound. Doss was fouled by RC with 20 tics on the clock. Doss missed the front end of the one-plus-one and the Lynx called a timeout. Then, with six seconds left, the visitors hit a baseline three-point shot to snatch away the win, 77-75.
 
Wright was the only other MUW player in double digits with 13 points off of the Owls' bench. Wright went 5-of-8 from the floor, a stellar 3-for-3 from long range.
 
The W out-rebounded the Lynx by a 36-32 margin. The Owls also distributed the ball well with 18 assists on its 30 made baskets. MUW's Kenteririus Davison topped all players with six "helps," in just 19 minutes of playing time.
 
Both teams did a good job taking care of the ball, with The W having just 12 turnovers and Rhodes nine. Likewise, hot shooting was the order of the day with The W connecting on 50 percent of its shots (30-60) and the Lynx making good on 43 percent (25-58).
 
The Owls will next play in the Blue Mountain College Classis this weekend. MUW faces Bethel University (Tenn.) of Friday (Dec. 10) at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday (Dec. 11), MUW squares off versus host Blue Mountain at 2 p.m.