KEARNEY, Neb.- The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team closed out the Nebraska-Kearney Classic on Saturday afternoon, falling to Nebraska-Kearney 67-57.
 
SMSU, which is now 0-2 on the season, led by nine at 36-27 with 8:38 left in the third quarter, but the Lopers, who move to 3-1 on the season, outscored the Mustangs 40-21 the rest of the way, going 15 of 28 from the field and limiting SMSU to 8 of 26 during the stretch.
 
Sam Wall and Hannah Parsley each scored 11 points to lead the Mustangs, with Parsley adding six rebounds. Bri Stoltzman scored 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting, going 2 of 2 from deep and recording six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Jenna Borchers finished the night tying for a team-high with three rebounds and added nine points, and Maddie Thorfinnson had a pair of steals to go along with two points and three rebounds off the bench.
 
UNK found an advantage inside, outscoring SMSU 42-28 in the paint while outscoring the Mustangs 16-8 off second chance points.
 
After the Lopers opened the game with a 7-2 lead, the Mustangs galloped to a 20-7 lead, with its 18-0 run spanning four and a half minutes. UNK closed out the quarter on a 7-2 run to cut the SMSU lead to 22-14 into the second quarter.
 
The Mustangs grew their lead to as many as 11 in the second quarter, as a Stoltzman three-pointer moved SMSU to a 32-21 lead with 2:45 to go in the half. UNK trimmed the lead to five at 32-27, but a Thorfinnson layup with 57 seconds to go gave SMSU a 34-27 lead.
 
The Mustangs opened the scoring in the second half with a Madison Gehloff layup, but UNK would dominate the rest of the way en route to victory
 
SMSU opens its home slate on Tuesday, welcoming Crown College to the R/A Facility at 6 p.m.