HOUSTON — Princess Roberts's game-tying 3-point attempt fell off its mark as time expired, leaving the Southwestern women's basketball team with a 53-50 loss to the University of St. Thomas Celts. 

Roberts was the only Pirate to score in double figures for an offense that struggled to an 18-for-62 (29 percent) shooting performance. The sophomore center finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Taylor Carney, Ellie Ward, and Lauren Fulenwider finished with nine points each.

The Pirates fell behind early, shooting 3-for-12 with seven turnovers in a disastrous first quarter. St. Thomas guard Alexya Castillo keyed the Celts to a 16-9 lead in the first quarter, scoring eight points on three shots.

Southwestern battled back in the second quarter, reeling off an 18-12 run with Jada Hollie, Roberts, and Carney scoring four each, to trail 28-27 at the half. 

In the third quarter, both teams struggled, with the Celts outscoring the Pirates 11-7 to take a 39-34 lead. Southwestern cut the deficit to one at 45-44 with 3:18 remaining on a Ward layup, but Castillo responded with a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game. A few possessions later, Hollie made a 3-pointer, and Carney followed with a layup to bring Southwestern within two at 52-50 with 12 seconds remaining. 

Southwestern sent St. Thomas to the free-throw line, where McGee hit 1-of-2 free throws, but Roberts missed the 3-pointer as time expired. 

The Pirates drop to 9-12 with a 5-8 conference record. Southwestern will travel to San Antonio on Saturday to play Trinity, then host Centenary and Austin College next weekend to close the regular season.