GEORGETOWN, Texas â€" Taylor Dydalewicz had a good look at a game-tying three-pointer with four seconds left, but her shot fell just short, sealing a 72-69 defeat for Texas Lutheran in its SCAC opener at Southwestern on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half and earned a chance to tie the game. Down three, TLU needed Southwestern's Annie Bourne to miss the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw with 10 seconds left. Fortunately for TLU, Bourne left the shot a little short.
 
The Bulldogs raced the rebound up the court, with Karisa Cantu finding Dydalewicz in the far corner for the potential game-tying shot.
 
The heartbreaking loss dropped the Bulldogs' record to 5-6 on the year and 0-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Last season, TLU finished with a 14-2 conference mark and both a regular-season and conference tournament title. One of those two losses last season came against Southwestern in the same gym as Saturday's defeat.
 
Southwestern improved to 3-9 with the win and 1-0 in the SCAC.
 
The fact that Dydalewicz and Bulldogs even had a chance to send the game into overtime was impressive. TLU, consistently a strong second half squad, came back from a 68-56 deficit with 3:50 to play, ending the game on a 13-4 run.
 
Dydalewicz (Dripping Springs, Texas) started the run with a 3-pointer and chipped in five points during the final stretch.  Savannah Hight scored four during the run.
 
The scoring was balanced for Texas Lutheran, with four players finishing in double figures. Hight (San Antonio, Texas) was the leader with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting. She was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with nine on the afternoon.
 
Cantu (San Antonio, Texas) poured in 14 points and a team-high four assists. She was also a factor on the defensive end, tallying three blocks and three steals.
 
Dydalewicz added 13 points of her own of 5-of-16 shooting, while Kristen Lye (San Antonio, Texas) notched 11 and six rebounds.
 
Lye and Hight were key in leading a Bulldog bench that outscored Southwestern's 33-24. The two were also forces on the offensive glass, combining for 10 offensive rebounds and helping the Bulldogs to 17 second-chance points.
 
While the bench kept the Bulldogs in the game, their struggles from outside may have proved to be the difference. TLU finished 4-of-23 from behind the arc. That stands in stark contrast to the Pirates' 10-of-23 long-range shooting.
 
The other difference came at the free throw line, where the Bulldogs missed eight shots, compared to four for Southwestern.
 
The Pirates were led by Jordan Owens and her 16 points and 10 rebounds. Audrey Garcia and McKamie Place also made a difference, combining for 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from three-point land.
 
The game started off as well as the Bulldogs could have hoped, with Dydalewicz scoring two quick layups to put TLU up 4-0 just 21 seconds into action.
 
Southwestern began to take control, taking a 20-14 lead with 12:33 to go in the first half. The Bulldogs answered with an 11-0 run capped off by a three-point play from Hight. Unfortunately, that momentum wouldn't hold, as the Pirates came back with a 15-2 run to retake a 35-27 lead with 3:59 left.
 
The Bulldog deficit grew to as many as nine late in the first half before a pair of Dydalewicz free throws sent the Bulldogs to the halftime locker room down 44-37.
 
The Pirate lead was stretched to 10 after a made 3-pointer at the start of the second half. Eventually, the Bulldogs would close to within two, down 58-56 with 8:46 left. The Pirates answered by scoring 10 straight points to build that 68-56 lead with 3:40 remaining. That's when the Bulldogs put together the late charge that proved just a little too late.
 
After playing three games in five days, Texas Lutheran will have nearly a week to rest before resuming their SCAC title defense with a home game against Centenary. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9. Live video and live stats will be available via tlubulldogs.com.