SAN ANTONIO – The Angelo State women's basketball team dropped its first game of the season 83-76 to Arkansas Monticello in the final game of the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday evening.

The Belles (3-1) held a 53-51 lead going into the fourth quarter but was outscored 32-23. The Blossoms (2-2) hit 47.7-percent from the field and made 8-of-24 from behind the arc. The two teams each recorded 36 rebounds. UAM scored 38 points in the paint and received 17 points from its bench.

"Tonight we played well enough to win," ASU head women's basketball coach Kevin Baker said. "WE just couldn't quite get the defensive stop when we needed it. The last two games really helped our team improve and we believe this will make us better."

Jasmine Prophet and Taylor Dorsey each paced the Belles with 18 points each. It is a season high for Prophet on 6-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Dorsey grabbed a team high eight rebounds with seven coming on the defensive end. Brea Mitchell added nine while KeAnna Kelly, Christina Robinson and Natalie Quesnel chipped in eight each.

The Blossoms jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 12-2 lead with 4:48 to go. A layup and free throw by Prophet sparked a 17-6 run to give the Belles a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter. The junior post scored nine of her 18 points in the first quarter and Quesnel scored six of her eight in the first.

The Belles pushed one point lead to six through the first six minutes of the second quarter. Dorsey hit a layup and followed it up on a pair of free throws to make it 28-22 with 3:33 to go in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mitchell and Robinson put ASU on top 34-30 with 2:10 to go. Arkansas Monticello ended the half on a 7-2 run to take a 37-36 advantage into the half. The Belles were aided by 11-of-13 free throws (84.6-percent) in the first half.

The third quarter featured four ties, the first coming on a Prophet free throw to tie the game at 39. Mitchell tied it for a second time at 41 on a layup from Dorsey and Prophet made it 43 all on a layup with five minutes to go in the third quarter. Quesnel gave ASU its first lead of the quarter on a jumper and Kelly hit a 3-pointer with 2:50 to go to extend it to 48-46. Tied at 48, the Belle finished by outscoring UAM 5-3 over the final 2:15 to take a 53-51 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Blossoms took a one point lead with a three to open up the fourth quarter. Diamalises Rivera and Dorsey made consecutive layups to return the one point lead in favor of the Belles. Dorsey hit a free throw at the 7:32 mark to give the Belles its final lead at 58-56. UAM went on a quick 6-0 run before a 3-pointer from Dorsey cut the lead to 64-61 with 5:50 to go. Mitchell hit a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to one at 64-63 with 5:12 to go. UAM extended its lead to six points with a 7-2 run with under three minutes to play. The Belles would make it a one possession game twice but was unable to regain the lead as UAM secured a 83-76 win.

Arkansas Monticello a game-high 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Nikki Mullen (13), Ayesha Wahid (12) and Taylor Collins (11) also scored in double figures for the Blossoms.

The Belles return home to face Texas Wesleyan at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.