The Lady Bears returned from the holiday break hoping to make a statement at Panola College.
And despite a good start where they matched up well against a tough Fillie team, they came up just short, falling 70-64.
"We are really proud of our effort against a very good Region 14 opponent," Southwest head coach Brent Harris said. "We had chances late but just did not execute perfectly. Mookie (Lampley) made some great plays offensively."
Lampley was part of a balanced scoring attack that the Lady Bears (10-2) put on display early, as eight different players registered points in the first quarter, helping Southwest take a 15-12 lead.
However, things began to shift in the second.
Even though the Lady Bears once again had a balanced attack, Panola ramped up its play and had its best quarter of the night on the offensive end, posting 23 points and putting SMCC down 35-33 at the half.
Lampley helped lead the Lady Bear offense in the third with her best scoring period of the night. She posted eight of her 14 points, six of which came on a pair of 3-pointers.
But the Fillies stayed one step ahead and went into the fourth quarter leading 55-46.
Despite a resurgence by Southwest, posting 20 points with eight from Kara Beth Addison and six from Bethany Graves, the Lady Bears could not slow down Panola in the end as it held on for the win.
Joining Lampley in double-digit scoring was Graves who tallied 13 points and Addison who had 12.
Southwest has a quick turnaround as the Lady Bears will be back in action on Thursday, visiting Hinds at 5:30 p.m. in the final non-conference test of the season.
