Box ScoreSeason StatsCANYON, Texas – The No. 3/4 West Texas A&M women's basketball team used a number of runs as it pulled away in the second half from visiting Texas A&M-International Sunday afternoon at the First United Bank Center. With the win, WT extended its winning streak to seven games and improved to 7-1 on the year, while TAMIU fell to 4-4.
"They hit some tough shots in the first half and broke us down off the dribble in the first half, but we made the adjustments at halftime and cleaned up the rebounding in the second half," head coach
Mark Kellogg said. "I was really proud of our defense in the second half with just one turnover through 16 minutes. We made the big run and we can make those with and that is when we are at our best."
The Lady Buffs were led by 26 points on 8 of 17 from the field with a triple and 9 of 10 from the line by senior
Chontiquah White tying her season-high in points. She tied for the team-lead in rebounding with eight. Sophomore
Sasha Watson added 14 points on 6 of 11 from the field with four assists and three steals, while junior
Madison McLain gave a spark with 10 points including two triples.
WT shot an even 50 percent for the game on 32 of 64. It was 8 of 19 from beyond the arc and 12 of 14 from the line. WT tallied 41 rebounds with 16 assists, 11 steals and 14 turnovers.
TAMIU was led by 19 points from Stella Ghazarian who was 6 of 15 from the field with five triples, while Jessica Prieto added 18 points with four triples and Benzait Anbesse added 10 points. After opening shooting 53.3 percent from the field, the Dustdevils cooled off to 30.8 percent in the second half for 42.9 percent on 24 of 56. TAMIU stayed in the game on 10 of 25 from the field, but went to the line five six times making five.
The Lady Buffs held a 41-24 lead in rebounding and a 36-22 lead in points in the paint. WT tallied 16 offensive rebounds leading to a 21-4 lead in second chance points.
WT now travels to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a pair of games Thursday and Friday against Western Washington University and Northwest Nazarene University. The Lady Buffs will then be off until Jan. 7 at Midwestern State to open conference play.
TAMIU established an early 13-7 lead on a jumper from Prieto with 15:25 left in the first half. WT countered with a 13-2 run of its own for a 20-15 lead capped with a jumper in the lane from senior
Ariel Robertson with 12:47 left as both teams shot at a blistering pace.
Ghazarian cut the WT lead to 22-21 with 10:57 left on a triple and Prieto put the Dustdevils up five at 29-24 with a triple – her second of the half with 7:26 left. The Lady Buffs used another big run – this time 11-2 for a 35-21 lead on a hoop-and-harm foul for White with 2:41 left.
The Dustdevils responded once again tying the game at 38 on a jumper from Prieto, but a jumper from junior Zantaya Davis and triple with nine seconds left from junior
Danielle Logan gave the Lady Buffs a 43-38 lead at intermission.
For the half, White led the way with 13 points on 5 of 8 with a triple and 2 of 3 from the line. She was the lone Lady Buff in double figures. Reigning Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Sasha Watson had eight points on 4 of 7 shooting, while Davis added eight points off the bench. The Lady Buffs shot 55.9 percent from the field on 19 of 34. They were 3 of 9 from range and 2 of 3 from the line.
TAMIU was led by Prieto with 12 points and Anbesse with 10 on 5 of 5from the field. The Dustdevils shot 53.3 percent from the field on 16 of 30. They were 6 of 11 from range and didn't make a trip to the free throw line. WT held a 19-10 lead in rebounding, including 8-3 on the offensive end leading to a 12-4 lead in second chance points. WT also held a24-16 lead in points in the paint.
A jumper in the lane from White off an offensive rebound gave WT its largest lead of the game at 48-41, but a triple from Ghazarian followed. Again, WT had the answer with a triple from Logan and a triple from junior
Madison McLain swelled the lead to 56-44 with 14:15 left and a timeout by TAMIU as the Lady Buffs opened the half on a 13-6 run through the first six minutes.
White converted a hoop-and harm for a 61-48 lead with 11:53 left as the Lady Buffs picked right up from the first half starting 7 of 14 from the field, while TAMIU cooled off to just 4 of 12 to begin the second half. McLain buried her second triple for a 64-48 lead with 11:30 left. Another old-fashion three-point play from White swelled the lead to 67-48 and a 12-0 run.
A triple from Prieto ended the run, but White made two free throws at the other end for 24 points and a 69-51 WT lead with less than 10 minutes left and a 15-3 run. Two more free throws from White tied her season-high with 26 points and a 73-51 lead with eight minutes left.
WT continued to pull away for the 84-63 victory and run its winning streak to seven games and outscored TAMIU 41-25 in the decisive second half.
