One cold stretch in the second half proved costly as the Southwestern women attempted to gain their first victory during interim coach Steve Tussey’s first home appearance Wednesday night.

The Spartans fell behind 26-19 at halftime, surged ahead 36-34 with 12 minutes left, and then faded during a five-minute scoreless drought as Ellsworth ended up with a 60-54 road victory.

Southwestern fell behind as far as 13 points (56-43) during the dry spell, only to make another charge in the final minutes, capped by Jamee Miner’s 3-pointer at the final buzzer. Moments earlier, Miner ran six steps into the bleachers trying to save a steal as the Spartans scrambled to gain extra possessions.