The William Jewell women's basketball team dropped their fourth straight game on Thursday night, including their third by less than four points, as they fell to Truman State 54-53 on the road in Kirksville, Mo. The Cardinals now stand at 10-17 overall, and 5-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. 

By the end of the first half it seemed as though the Bulldogs were going to run away with the game as they led by ten at the break, 26-16 behind 6-9 shooting from the three-point line in the opening two quarters. 

Jewell opened the third period with a 4-0 run and cut the lead to five at 37-32 following a Maddie Nelson steal and layup. Each time the Cardinals made a run, however Truman State counted with one of their own to keep Jewell at bay until the final seconds.

With just 19 ticks to play senior Kelsey Nickerson hit her third three-point shot to pull the Cardinals within one. The Bulldogs hit one of two free throws to put the lead at 53-51. In true Nelson fashion, the point guard drove the length of the court and cashed in on the layup to tie the game at 53-all with 10.7 seconds remaining. 

The Bulldogs did not lay down however, as they went down the court and made a pass over the head of smaller Jewell players to 6'2 reserve center Cassidy Clark who was fouled on the shot with 2.7 seconds to go. Clark gave the Cardinals hope as she missed the first of two free throws before hitting the second to give the Bulldogs a one point advantage. 

Senior Logan Antenen took a pass and tried to get up a long three at the buzzer but was blocked from behind by a Truman player, giving the Bulldogs the win. 

Nelson led all scorers with 19 points to surpass the 800 mark for her career. She also added six rebounds and six steals. Nickerson continued her hot streak adding 11 points on 3-3 from behind the arc, while Madison Campbell added ten points and seven boards. 

The Cardinals have just two games remaining on the regular season schedule as they will host No. 23 Quincy on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. followed by a trip across town to Rockhurst next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Saturday will also serve as Senior Day for Jewell as head coach Jill Slominski and the Cardinals will take time, between the women's and men's games, to honor their four seniors Kelsey Nickerson, Makenzie Johnson, Logan Antenen, and Zinka Duric.