STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The Cameron women's basketball team was up 12 points at halftime, but a cold shooting second half allowed Tarleton State to come back and beat CU, 86-81 on Thursday night.

Cameron started off the game on a hot streak, opening up the game with a 20-8 run. Tarleton State responded fast and cut the CU lead to just five points, 22-17, after the first quarter. In the second, the Aggies jumped back out in front and maintained around a 12 point lead throughout the second 10 minutes of play. They closed out the half on a 5-2 run to lead 47-35 at halftime. Parfitt McNair and Lejha Smith led CU with 10 points each at the break.

The TexAnns made their run in the third quarter, using a pair of big rallies to outscore CU 20-12, cutting the deficit to just four points heading into the final quarter. Tarleton continued their momentum into the fourth, and by the 4:45 mark, they used an 8-2 run to take a two point lead, 70-68. TSU built that into an eight point lead with 1:42 left to play, but the Aggies didn't go away, cutting the difference back down to three with five straight points from Amaka Nwakamma. After a pair of TSU free throws, Cameron had a chance to cut the lead to two points with a three pointer by Jamie Bonnarens, but instead they trailed by three with five seconds left after a rebound and a tip-in by Nwakamma. TSU's Mckinley Bolstad put the game away after getting fouled with a pair of free throws as the home team came away with an 86-81 win.

McNAir led CU with 20 points, while shooting 7-11 from the field, while Smith chipped in 16 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting night. Nwakamma finished the night three assists shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, as Ava Battese and Bonnarens both finished with 12 points.

The Aggies shot almost 46 percent from the field, but struggled to get going from the perimeter, making just eight of their 32 three point attempts. They turned the ball over 18 times and recorded 20 assists while scoring 46 of their 81 points in the paint.

Makenzie Hailey paced the TexAnns with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while going 7-10 from the field and 10-12 from the charity stripe. Katie Webster chipped in 19 points and Bolstad finished with 14.

Cameron dropped to 7-12 overall on the season while falling below .500 in conference play at 5-6. Tarleton State is now 13-6 overall and 7-4 in Lone Star Conference play.

The Aggies will continue their road trip on Saturday as they visit Texas A&M-Commerce, who they lost to in overtime at home earlier this season; tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on Jan. 27.