SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College women's basketball team fell in a 7-0 hole early and scored just six third quarter points, and that proved to be the difference as the 'Roos fell 54-45 against visiting Occidental on Monday afternoon in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 0-10 overall on the year.

Austin College got off to a slow start offensively, not getting on the scoreboard until a Megan O'Neil three made it 7-3 with 6:09 left in the opening quarter. Occidental pushed the margin to 21-7 with 1:26 left in the first quarter, but Austin College closed strong with threes from Lauren Traylor and O'Neil to cut it to a 21-13 game at the end of the period. A three-point-play by Sarah Gwin trimmed it to a 22-17 game with 8:24 left before halftime, but the Tigers pushed it to a 30-21 game five minutes later. The 'Roos would end up closing the gap to 32-25 at the break.

The 'Roos went ice cold in the third quarter, however, mustering just six points as Occidental pushed the lead to 42-31, and the margin would grow to 48-33 with just under seven minutes left to play. Back-to-back buckets by Brooklyn Matthews helped Austin College get the deficit back to single digits at 51-43 with 52 seconds left, and Matthews scored again to cut it to 52-45 half a minute later. However, that's as close as things would get, as the Tigers got a pair of free throws in the closing moments to seal the 54-45 final score.

Matthews put together the strongest game of her young career in the loss, posting a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while hitting 6-of-8 attempts from the field. O'Neil and Sarah Putnicki each added nine points, with Putnicki also grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists. Paige Yasukochi led Occidental with 14 points and eight boards, and Amaia McCoy chipped in 11 points and seven boards. Austin College is back in action on Wednesday, when they host UT-Dallas at 2:00 p.m.