After getting off to a strong start in the first half of Friday's home match against Pensacola State, the Lady Bears lost some momentum in the second half before finishing in a 2-2 tie with the Lady Pirates. 
 
The game was played in soggy conditions after rainy weather moved through Summit earlier in the day.
 
"To come out here and play in these conditions, there was always going to be a ton of challenges," said Southwest head coach Nicole Cooper who was pleased with her teams performance against the Lady Pirates, a team who received votes in the latest NJCAA Division II rankings. "I thought that we moved the ball well. This is a good team. They play a lot of teams in our conference too so we have a good idea of how we will match up."
 
Early on, both the Lady Bears (3-1-1) and the Lady Pirates tried to set the tone but the opposing defenses shut down the opportunities.
 
Southwest broke through in the 26^th minute as Gabby Venable sent a loft shot from about 25 yards out into the net, putting the Lady Bears up 1-0.
 
She shined once again about 17 minutes later with a similar shot from almost the same location and for the same result, putting the hosts up 2-0.
 
"On that second shot, I knew (it was going in) with the way I planted it and with the way that I hit it, it was meant to be," Venable said.
 
Unfortunately, in the second half, the Lady Pirates made the necessary adjustments to get back in the ball game scoring goals in the 63^rd and 70^th minutes to pull even at 2.
 
The Lady Bear defense buckled down for the remaining 20 minutes, halting the Pensacola rally before the clock ran out ending the match in a tie.

Southwest will be back in action on Saturday Sept. 14 as they welcome in Hinds for a 7 p.m. contest.