The Angelo State women's basketball team (5-7) suffered its fourth straight loss Monday night as the 'Belles were handed a 65-49 home defeat by Central Oklahoma in Lone Star Conference crossover play.

The 'Belles led by as many as nine points late in the first half only to shoot 30 percent (9-of-30) in the second half and collect its second straight home loss after starting the season 4-0 at the Junell Center/Stephens Arena.

Central Oklahoma slowly took a 5-0 lead before the 'Belles could find the bottom of the net when a layup by sophomore Jasmine Fuller with 15:18 left in the opening half would spark a 6-0 run by ASU. The Bronchos would stop the spurt with a pair of inside field goals to regain a three-point lead, 9-6, with 12:28 remaining in the period. 

The 'Belles would bounce back with an eight-point run capped by a jumper by senior Lindsey Leatherman-Schaertl with 7:33 left to give ASU a 14-9 lead. ASU extended its first-half lead to as many as nine points, 22-13, on a three-pointer by freshman Ashley James with 3:28 left before the break but the Bronchos would end the half on a 8-2 run to cut the halftime lead of the 'Belles to just three points, 24-21.

The Bronchos' run continued into the second half as UCO got an old-fashion three-point play by Kasey Tweed with 19:26 left in the game to knot the contest, 29-29. The 'Belles answered with a layup by Fuller and a three-point by sophomore center Paige Weishuhn to give ASU back a five-point cushion, 29-24, with 18:35 remaining. UCO then scored 13 straight points to take a 37-29 lead with 15:14 remaining.

ASU would stop the run with a running jumper in the lane by junior Camille Perkins which was quickly followed by steal by Perkins and a fast-break jumper by Weishuhn to cut the Broncho lead back to four points, 37-33, with 14:27 remaining. UCO would answer with four quick points to double its lead to eight points, 41-33, before the 'Belles would use a 7-3 spurt, including a trey by Weishuhn, to get back within four points, 44-40, with 11:17 left.

The Bronchos would take their largest of the game at the time at nine points, 52-43, with 7:01 remaining on a three-pointer from the corner by Tweed. Tweed's trey would ignite a 10-run by UCO, taking a 59-43 advantage with just over four minutes left to play. ASU would go more than 10:30 without a field goal before senior Christie Rasmussen would drain a jumper with just two seconds left as the Bronchos ended the game on a 19-7 run.

The 'Belles shots just 30.4 percent (17-of-56) from the field as a team, including 3-of-22 (13.6%) from three-point range, and connected on just 12-of-21 shots (57.1%) from the free-throw line. Weishuhn was the only ASU player to reach double digits as she ended the night with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 2-of-5 from behind the arc, and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line. James added a season-high nine points and shared the team lead in rebounding with seven boards, also a season best. Perkins also had seven rebounds.

For UCO (5-3), Tweed and Jordan Stark each had a game-high 15 points while Rose Anderson added 12 points. The Bronchos shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) as a team and hit 7-of-18 shots (38.9%) from three-point range. UCO shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the free-throw line and had a slight rebounding edge over the 'Belles, 43-41.

The 'Belles will take more than two weeks off before returning to the hardwood. ASU returns to action Thursday, Jan. 7, when the 'Belles visit East Central in Ada, Okla. Tip-off is 6 p.m. at Kerr Center.