BROWNWOOD, Texas – Howard Payne University's Bria Neal posted her first double-double of the season in a 61-52 home opener loss to Southwestern University Tuesday evening at the Brownwood Coliseum.

With almost all stats in the game being equal in the end, Howard Payne could not recover from a 13-point second-quarter deficit. The Lady Jackets shot just 15.4% in the second quarter but would best Southwestern shooting from the field in the second half.

With the game a 31-19 Southwestern at the half, the Lady Jackets would outscore the Pirates 15-13 in the third and 18-16 in the fourth.

Howard Payne was led by Bria Neal with a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Neal was 7 for 8 from the free-throw line. Anna Beamesderfer followed with 12 points. Kiara Green had nine rebounds and Katlyn Ward dished out three assists.

Southwestern was led by Akyra Hodges with 14 points and Aniyah Burke with 12 points.

Howard Payne is now 0-1 to start the season, Southwestern stands a 2-2 overall. The Lady Jackets will play next on Thursday at home versus Barclay College at 5:30 pm