Box ScoreSeason StatsLAS VEGAS, Nev. – A career-high 22 points and six triples from junior
Madison McLain pushed the No. 4 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs to a 76-69 victory over Northwest Nazarene Friday afternoon in the final game of the 2014 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic. With the win, WT extended its winning streak to nine games and enters the holiday break with a 9-1 record, while NNU fell to 3-8.
WT senior
Chontiquah White led all scorers with 23 points on 10 of 14 from the field and 3 of 4 from the line with eight rebounds. McLain went 8 of 15 from the field and 6 of 11 from beyond the arc for 22 points. Junior
Danielle Logan added 12 points on 3 of 7 from the field and three triples.
The Lady Buffs shot 47.5 percent for the game on 29 of 61. They were a season-best 10 of 21 from beyond the arc for 47.6 percent and were 8 of 12 from the line. WT won the battle of the boards 41-37.
The Crusaders out of Nampa, Idaho, went 27 of 65 from the field for 41.5 percent. They were 4 of 17 from beyond the arc and 11 of 15 from the line. Taylor Simmons led the way with 21 points on 7 of 14 from the field with one triple and went a game-high 6 of 7 from the line. Kate Cryderman added 15 points on 6 of 12 from the field with two triples.
NNU jumped out to a 7-3 lead and a timeout by WT with 17 minutes left in the first half as the Crusaders used a 5-0 run. Out of timeout, junior
Danielle Logan was fouled on a triple making all three free throws and White scored inside for an 8-7 lead.
A triple from senior
Haylee Oliver and an "and one" from White swelled the WT lead to 15-9 and a 7-0 run by the Lady Buffs with 13:18 left in the half. NNU came right back with a 13-2 run of its own for a 22-17 lead with seven minutes left in the half.
A bucket from White and a transition triple from Logan tied the game at 22 with six minutes left in the half. Logan buried another triple for a 27-26 WT lead with 4:15 remaining. It was her second triple of the game and team-leading ninth point.
Back-to-back triples from Logan and junior
Madison McLain gave WT a 33-28 lead with three minutes remaining in the half. McLain buried her second triple and a NNU timeout for a 38-32 lead with 1:25 left in the half. Since the 4:17 mark, WT outscored NNU 11-6.
White scored with less than four seconds left for a 40-34 lead. For the half, Logan led the way with 12 points on three triples and three free throws, while McLain added 11 points with three triples and White had 10 points and three rebounds. WT shot 51.7 percent for the half on 15 of 29. It had a season-high seven triples in the half and was 3 of 4 from the line.
NNU went 15 of 31 from the field for 48.4 percent. The Crusaders were 3 of 8 from beyond the arc and 1 of 2 from the line as Kate Cryderman led the way with 12 points and Taylor Simmons added 10.
The Lady Buffs scored the first five points of the second half on a triple from McLain and a layup from senior
Ariel Robertson for the largest lead of the game at 45-34 with 19 minutes left. Sophomore
Sasha Watson extended the run to 47-34 with 18 minutes left.
NNU kept hanging around as it cut the deficit to seven at 49-42 with 14:55 left. McLain responded with her fifth triple and a bucket for a 54-42 lead with 14 minutes left. To that point she had a career-high 19 points.
A triple from Lexi Tubbs pulled NNU within nine at 61-52 with 9:41 left as the Lady Buffs had extended the lead to as many as 13 points. Out of a media timeout White earned the "and one" giving WT a 64-52 lead.
An 8-2 run by NNU brought the Crusaders within 66-60 with 5:50 left. Watson ended the run with a nice spinning jumper in the lane pushing the lead back to eight at 68-60 with 4:40 remaining.
A big bucket from White pushed the lead to nine points at 72-63 with 1:56 left. Two free throws from Oliver pushed the lead to 74-67 with 40 seconds left. Simmons scored with 19.3 seconds left for NNU cutting the deficit to 74-69.
White was fouled with 10.5 seconds left and made both free throws for a 76-69 lead and the win.
