ALPINE – When the week began, the Howard Payne Lady Jackets stood atop the American Southwest Conference West Division standings. Two games – and two losses – later, and the Lady Jackets find themselves in third place following Thursday night’s 76-65 defeat at Sul Ross.

Sul Ross (8-11, 6-4) moved into second place in the ASC West with the win as the Lady Jackets (7-6, 4-3) tallied just nine points in the first quarter, trailed 40-24 at halftime and were unable to recover.

The Lady Jackets shot just 33 percent (24 of 71) from the field, 13 percent (4 of 30) at the three-point arc, and 68 percent (13 of 19) at the free throw line. Howard Payne committed only 11 turnovers, but was outrebounded 51-38.

Chelsey Harris scored a team-high 20 points for the Lady Jackets trailed by Amanda Turpin with 10, Kendra Brown with nine, Salina Ali and Payge Grable with seven apiece, Mallory Garcia with six, Bria Neal with four and Kayla Brigance with two points.

Sul Ross knocked down 38 percent (21 of 56) of its shots, 30 percent (7 of 23) of its treys, and 79 percent (27 of 34) of its free throws.

Vania Hampton led the charge for Sul Ross with a double-double of 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Howard Payne has a chance to avenge the loss quickly as Sul Ross visits the Brownwood Coliseum at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Sul Ross 87, Yellow Jackets 60

ALPINE – The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets fell to 0-16 overall and 0-12 in American Southwest Conference action with an 87-60 loss at West Division rival Sul Ross Thursday night.

Down 42-30 at halftime, the Yellow Jackets were outscored by 15 points in the second half.

Howard Payne converted 34 percent (22 of 65) of its field goals, 33 percent (7 of 21) of its three-pointers, and 45 percent (9 of 20) of its free throws. The Yellow Jackets were outrebounded 55-44 and committed 19 turnovers while creating 11.

Michael House led the Jackets with 19 points followed by Jaylan Ballou with 13, Tyrell Thompson with nine, Mason Green with five, Isiah Thomas and Reese Ridder with three each, and James Helzer, Brad Erskin, Harold Myart and Kevion Collins with two points apiece.

Sul Ross (8-9, 6-6) drained 36 percent of its shots (27 of 75), 33 percent of its treys (15 of 45) and 72 percent (18 of 25) of its free throws.

Tristen Licon poured in 18 points followed by Julian Paredes and Jezreel Griffin with 12, and Caelyb Kerley with 11.

The Yellow Jackets’ final two games of the season are slated for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4 at Concordia and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 6 at Mary Hardin-Baylor.