SEGUIN â€" Texas Lutheran's upset bid of No. 18-ranked Whitworth fell just a bit short in a 78-64 home loss on Friday evening.
 
Friday was a classic example of the final score not reflecting the flow and story of the game, with the score remaining close until the Pirates made some free throws at the end. The Bulldogs were within two scores, trailing 64-58 with 3:06 left.
 
In the end though, TLU couldn't overcome its 28 percent second-half shooting, as the Pirates shot 37 percent in the second half to pull away.
 
The loss was the Bulldogs' first at home. On the season they dropped to 2-3, while Whitworth improved to 5-0.
 
The Bulldogs were buoyed by the fantastic play of Taylor Dydalewicz (Dripping Springs, Texas). For the third straight game, the junior led TLU in scoring. This time, she dropped 27 on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. She knocked down 3-of-4 from long range and 4-of-5 from the free throw stripe. The guard is averaging 28.7 points per game during this three-game stretch.
 
Eighteen of Dydalewicz's 27 points came in the first half, where she scored more than half of TLU's 31 first-half points. She put in a layup with 6:53 left in the first period. At that point, she scored the next 14 Bulldog points and pulled them within three with 2:39 to go.
 
A Karisa Cantu 3-pointer tied things up 29-29 late in the half, and TLU kept things tight the rest of the period. Whitworth went into halftime up 34-31.
 
That Cantu 3-pointer was the only long-range shot any Bulldog other than Dydalewicz hit on the night. TLU finished 4-of-16 from behind the arc. Cantu (San Antonio, Texas) finished with 14 points, to go along with four assists and two rebounds.
 
Dydalewicz and Cantu combined for 51 of TLU's 64 total points and shot 13-of-26 from the field.
 
Texas Lutheran took its first lead in more than 18 minutes of play early in the second half on a pair of Dydalewicz free throws.
 
Whitworth scored the next eight points, retaking the lead 42-35 with 15:59 to play. The Bulldogs answered again though, scoring 10 of the next 12 points to tie things up 45-45 with 12:26 left.
 
That pattern â€" Whitworth pushing its lead to six or seven, then Texas Lutheran cutting it back down again â€" consisted for much of the second half. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they couldn't take a lead again, and Whitworth eventually pulled away.
 
Texas Lutheran shot 35 percent from the field for the game, matching the Pirates' field-goal percentage. The difference in the game came in the turnover battle. TLU coughed it up 26 times, allowing the Pirates to score 25 points off those turnovers.
 
The Bulldogs hit the road again for their next game. They will encounter Division-I foe University of the Incarnate Word at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10 in San Antonio. The Cardinals are coached by Texas Lutheran Women's Basketball alum Kate Henderson.