There are tough losses and then there is the type of defeat the Kansas Wesleyan women had to endure Saturday night.

Saint Mary's Saige Grampas made two free throws with two-tenths of a second left that propelled the Spires to a 61-60 Kansas Conference victory over the Coyotes inside Mabee Arena.

It capped a wild sequence in the waning seconds of the game. Tied at 59 Saint Mary's Summer Wieneke missed a shot with time about to expire. KWU's Charley Baxter was fouled during the scramble for loose ball but was assessed a technical foul just after play ended after slamming the ball on the floor.

Baxter made the first of her two free throws but missed the second, giving KWU a 60-59 lead. Grampas won the game with the technical foul shots at the other end of the floor.

"The game comes down to a call," coach Harper Taylor said on the postgame radio show. "We kind of wish we would have been able to play the overtime out, but it is what it is. I'm proud of the girls being in a tight game situation and picking each other up."

The game was close throughout. The Coyotes led 17-11 after one quarter and 33-28 at halftime. They had a 31-18 advantage with 2:45 left before intermission but USM went on a 10-0 run to get within 31-28. Odessa Ozuna's basket two seconds before the break to give KWU the five-point halftime cushion.

The Coyotes led 44-37 midway through the third quarter before the Spires embarked on a lengthy 17-4 run that put them on top 54-48 with 7:17 remaining in the game.

Down 59-53 with six minutes left, Ozuna made a 3-pointer and a free throw to get KWU within 59-57 and Izzy McCool's basket at the 1:04 mark tied it at 59. The Spires did not score for six minutes until Grampas' winning free throws.

"We're working every game and this is a game that we needed to have so that when it comes playoff time, we're winning these games, not losing because of one call," Taylor said.

Ozuna was superb finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal. McCool finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists and Hall 10 points and six rebounds.

KWU (6-5, 4-3 KCAC) committed 17 turnovers that led to 14 Saint Mary points. The Spires (8-5, 5-2) finished with nine turnovers.

The Coyotes shot 36 percent (23 of 64) including 4 of 11 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Spires handily 55-37. USM shot 32 percent (22 of 72) including 7 of 27 from long range.

Keely Barnard led Saint Mary with 19 points.

"We've just got to be able to buckle down and focus quarter to quarter when we're up," Taylor said. "We can't be complacent, and we've got to be able to score just as much as we can defend. Some of those (scoring) droughts are really hurting us in the long run."

The Coyotes head for Florida and the Daytona Beach Classic this week before the holiday break. They play Central Methodist at 10 a.m. (Central time) Wednesday and Rochester Christian at 2 p.m. (Central time) Thursday.