COLUMBUS, Miss. -   Mississippi University for Women took St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) co-leader Lyon College down to the wire, before succumbing to a 66-62 decision at home. The Owls fell to 6-11 (2-8 SLIAC), while the Scots improved to 11-7 (8-2 SLIAC).
 
The W built its largest lead early, 17-10, after a short jumper by Cam Smith at 12:33 of the first half. But the Lyon squad clawed back, outscoring MUW by a 31-13 margin to close the half and take a 41-30 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Owls came out for the second half and scored the first five points, thanks to a trey by Chris Evans and a layup by Brye Hopkins. That helped MUW keep the deficit within single digits the bulk of the final 20 minutes.
 
Down 11 with 11:20 left, the Owls reeled off nine unanswered points to climb within a single possession, 52-50, with 8:38 left to play. But The W could never seem to get that one extra defensive stop it needed, as the Owls had no less then seven possessions where they scored to get within two points in the final eight minutes, only to have the Scots answer with a basket of their own.
 
MUW out-shot Lyon for the night, 56 percent (27-48) to 48 percent (26-54). The Owls also owned the rebounds edge, 33-29. The W's Achille's Heel proved to be turnovers, where 19 MUW miscues were converted into 19 points by Lyon.
 
Hopkins finished the game with a team-leading 15 points, hitting 6-of-8 from the floor. He also hauled in six rebounds, dished off fie assists, and had two blocks on his ledger.
 
Tyson Smithey added 11 points on a 5-of-6 shooting game. Josh Dukes and Isaiah Ball each tallied 10 to round out MUW's quartet of double-figure scorers.
 
Evans had a game-leading nine rebounds to his credit, to go along with eight points. 
 
The W will next host Principia College on Thursday (Jan. 25) at 7:30 p.m., in what will be the club's fourth-straight home bout.