PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – The Lindsey Wilson women's basketball team trimmed a 25-point second half deficit down to six points, but ultimately the Blue Raiders came up short in a top-15 matchup against Shawnee State (Ohio) 79-71 on Thursday at Frank and Janis Waller Gymnasium.

Kayla Styles poured in 33 points in the loss and in the process eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for her career, becoming just the 12th Blue Raider in program history to do so. She also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Reagan Turner was the lone other Blue Raider in double figures with 13 and has now reach double-digit points in all 16 games this year.

No. 12 Lindsey Wilson (13-3, 1-1 Mid-South Conference) fell behind early and was playing catchup against the No. 4-ranked Bears (15-3, 2-0 MSC) with early shooting woes plaguing the effort to stay in the game.

A 7-0 run by the Bears that turned a one-point deficit into a six-point lead midway through the first quarter helped Shawnee State grab a 25-16 advantage after the opening frame. Lindsey Wilson struggled from the floor, hitting just 4-of-17 attempts without a three pointer while Shawnee State made 9-of-19 shots with a trio of threes.

The Bears started fast in the second quarter with a 7-2 run, pushing the lead to double digits for the first time at 32-18. LWC responded with a 7-0 run to make it 32-25, but the Bears countered with a 15-5 run from the 5:16 mark until halftime as Shawnee State took a 47-30 lead into the break.

Lindsey Wilson closed out that five-minute span shooting 1-of-12 from the floor, part of a 9-for-37 (24.3 percent) effort in the first half, missing all six three-point attempts. Conversely, Shawnee State hit 16-of-37 shots (43.2 percent) with four three pointers. Both sides shot well from the free throw line, LWC hitting 12-of-13 and SSU making 11-of-13 attempts.

Styles had 12 points for the Blue Raiders while a quartet of Bears had already reached double figures by halftime led by Ashton Lovely's 14.

Shawnee State continued to apply pressure early in the third quarter, building as much as a 25-point lead at 61-36. But then the Blue Raiders finally put a quality run together. From the 4:06 mark in the third quarter until the 5:45 mark of the fourth, Lindsey Wilson outscored the Bears 25-9 to cut the lead down to single digits. Heidi Huffman nailed a three pointer, the first and only one of the game for LWC, to cap off the run and make it a 70-61 game.

Lindsey Wilson continued to inch closer and trimmed the lead down to six points at 73-67 with less than three minutes to play, but the Bears made shots late when they needed and were able to hold off the Blue Raiders for the 79-71 win.

Lindsey Wilson finished the night shooting 30.7 percent from the floor, hitting just 1-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc, a season low. LWC did record a season-high in free throw percentage after going 24-for-27 from the line.

Shawnee State shot 38.0 percent from the floor and was held to 20.7 percent from three-point range (6-for-29), well below their season average of 38.3 percent. But the Bears did grab 14 offensive rebounds which they turned into 17 second-chance points. Lindsey Wilson came into the game averaging an NAIA-best 6.1 blocks per game, but managed just three blocks all night.

Lovely led Shawnee State in scoring finishing with 24 points while three other Bears also reached double figures.

Lindsey Wilson is back in action on Saturday as the Blue Raiders host Pikeville (Ky.) at 2 p.m. CT.