The Fulton Lady Hornets' recent pattern of flat second-half efforts materialized this time with a futile final 8 minutes.
Fulton was outscored 31-14 by Eldon in the fourth quarter Monday night as the Lady Hornets bowed to the Lady Mustangs 85-68 at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium.
Fulton (8-5) is now on a season-long, three-game losing streak.
The Lady Hornets held a 37-33 advantage at halftime and stretched that lead to 10 points behind a quick 7-1 run to start the third quarter.
Eldon would trim the deficit down to 45-44, but Fulton responded with another run, this one a 7-2 spurt to stretch their advantage back out to a six-point edge.
The Lady Mustangs tied the game at 54-all at the end of the third quarter, then started the fourth quarter with eight straight points to take a 62-54 advantage.
The Lady Hornets would get as close as 63-60, before Eldon finished the game on a 22-8 run. The Lady Mustangs forced Fulton into 23 turnovers and secured the game with a 17-of-21 showing from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
"We can't keep our composure," Lady Hornets head coach TJ Quick said. "They pressed us the entire game from the first quarter to the fourth quarter and we were breaking the press fine.
"They come out in the fourth quarter and do the exact same thing, and we can't handle it."
Fulton's late-game lapse overshadowed a milestone night for junior guard Sloane Totta, who eclipsed 1,000 points for her career on her first made field goal.
"It feels pretty good," Totta said. "I couldn't have done it without my teammates. ... It was definitely a team effort."
Totta - two points shy of 1,000 coming into the game - rebounded a missed 3-point attempt by fellow junior guard Rachel Guse' and converted a long-distance shot of her own to accomplish the feat.
"What a great experience, what a great moment for her and me as a coach," Quick said. "She deserves it, she works hard and there's many more points to come."
Totta paced the Lady Hornets with 23 points. Junior forward NaShayla Brandt had 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Guse' finished with 11 points.
Fulton shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, but was outrebounded by Eldon 44-39.
The Lady Mustangs' Sara Rhine blistered the Lady Hornets with a game-high 38 points, while sharing the team high with 10 rebounds. Taylor Pehle added 16 points and Brooklyn Bledsoe posted 11, helping guide the Lady Mustangs to a 42-percent shooting effort (27-of-65).
The Lady Hornets (0-7) dropped the junior varsity contest 52-16.
Fulton plays a varsity/junior varsity girls-boys' doubleheader at Helias in Jefferson City at 6 p.m. Friday.