SHREVEPORT, LA---The Lady Mustangs traveled Tuesday night from their home base in Van, TX to Shreveport, LA for their 3rd game of the season. USW took on LSU-Shreveport, who is receiving votes, in a Red River Athletic Conference matchup. The Lady Mustangs fell to the Lady Pilots by the score of 72-58. The loss moves USW's record to 0-3 on the season. 

"Free throws and turnovers was the name of the game tonight. We had opportunities and gave them back. But it was a learning opportunity, especially for our young ones. They are growing everyday" said Head Coach Devonte Brewer following the loss. 

USW was able to keep things close in the 1st half thanks to some tough defense and taking advantage of Lady Pilot mistakes. In the previous two games versus TAMUT, USW was down double-digits at halftime. But entering the half Tuesday night, USW was down just 3 points. Coach Brewer credits the great first half to his girls defense. "The difference in our start today was that we played our brand of ball and we defended our butts off. We made things difficult on them and proved that we can play with anyone in this conference." 

The Lady Mustangs were happy to welcome back Rhianna Bortoli to the lineup, after missing the first two games of the season. "Rhianna definitely had a solid night scoring. She had a little rust but she brings an unconscious ability to score and make plays. She's one of the fastest players on the court, so it brings a new dynamic and element to the team when she's on the floor" said Brewer on the performance of his senior guard. Bortoli scored 18 points on 7-14 shooting from the floor. Bortoli was 2-5 from three point range and a perfect 2-2 from the free-throw line, to go along with 3 rebounds. 

Jazmin Rios was the other Lady Mustang in double-figures as Rios scored 12 points off the bench, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Isabel Rodriguez contributed 9 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds. 

After 3 games in the early season, Coach Brewer is confident that his team's shooting will come around. The Lady Mustangs shot just 30.9% (21-68) from the floor on Tuesday night. "Shooting will come. (Jazmin) Rios finally hit a few and Rihanna will help with it as well. It's the 3rd game of the season and we are still learning our spots and how to play as a unit. It'll get better the more and more we play together."

The Lady Mustangs are back in action on Thursday night as they face off with the Jarvis Christian Lady Bulldogs. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 PM MST. Links for live video will be posted on Thursday morning and are available on the schedule as well.