MARSHALL, Texas – A final-second shot and near perfect day at the free-throw line was just enough to overpower the Millsaps women's basketball team, 51-49 against East Texas Baptist Univerisity inside the Ornelas Gymnasium on Saturday.

Senior Haley Franklin scored a game-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds, four steals and an assist.

The defeat ended an impressive 10-game winning streak for the Majors, which was a part of the program's best start to a season since 2020-21. 
 
Sophomore Garin Freeman contributed 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
Junior Elyse Warren (eight rebounds, three points, one steal) and sophomore Tia Anderson (seven rebounds, three points, one assist, one steal) were fixtures defensively.
 
Millsaps (11-2) held the Tigers to a season-low 24.2 percent shooting (15-of-62) and controlled points in the paint (36-20).
 
ETBU (11-3) matched their lowest scoring total of the season, but the team had its most effective day at the free-throw line at 94.1 percent (16-of-17). The Tigers forced four blocks and only surrendered three free throws defensively.
 
ETBU grabbed a 7-2 lead early, but the Majors soon raced ahead with six unanswered points. Back-and-forth would be a theme on the day as the teams exchanged the lead eight times and were tied on five occasions.

Millsaps closed the opening quarter with a 6-0 run and held a 17-12 advantage.

Senior Whitney Novak and Anderson both connected from long range to continue an early Major push. Franklin then came alive with four consecutive layups for the Majors. The last completed a three-point play and gave Millsaps its largest advantage at 32-16.

ETBU recovered and closed the second quarter with eight unanswered points to pull back and trail, 32-24.

The Tigers continued to claw back and were able to cut the deficit to two points, three minutes into the third stanza.

Franklin netted a jumper and three-pointer and Freeman added a layup before ETBU again fought back, trailing 41-39 with a quarter to play.

The hosts went ahead, 44-41 after a 10-0 burst. However, Freeman responded with a drive from beyond the three-point line to the basket, tying the contest at 45-45.

Both teams traded layups until Franklin and Freeman went back-to-back and gave Millsaps a 49-47 advantage with 3:37 remaining. As the defense intensified, ETBU scored on a fastbreak opportunity two minutes later to knot the game even.

Millsaps would get two cracks at regaining the lead with the last narrowly missing with three seconds to go. The ball would bounce off the rim and land out of bounds with 0.3 seconds on the clock.

ETBU would advance the ball up into the front court after a timeout. The Tigers tossed the ball up toward the basket and tipped in a shot as the buzzer expired. ETBU claimed a 51-49 win in a back-and-fourth battle in what was figuratively and literally the ETBU Tiger Classic.
 
The Majors remain on the road and open Southern Athletic Association action at Hendrix College on Friday. Opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. with live video and live stats provided at gomajors.com.


To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps College women's basketball program follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.       
   
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.