Box Score

Season Stats

CANYON, Texas – Down for the first time at halftime this season, the No. 6 West Texas A&M women's basketball team responded with a career-high 22 points from sophomore Sasha Watson and outscored the Oklahoma Christian Eagles 46-31 in the second half for an 83-70 victory Saturday afternoon.  With the win, the Lady Buffs improved to 6-1 on the year, while OC fell to 2-5.
 
"I think two things were key tonight, first our aggressiveness against their zone in the second half which was certainly different from the first half and defensively we didn't lose shooters and let them stand there and make open shots," head coach Mark Kellogg said.  "It wasn't too bad of an effort tonight, we had too many turnovers, but compensated with 17 steals which helped.  We changed our mindsets after the first half and were more aggressive in the second half."
 
Watson paced the team with 22 points on 9 of 15 from the field, one triple and 3 of 6 from the line.  She had six assists and seven steals in the contest.  Junior Danielle Logan added 15 points off the bench with a team-high three triples, while senior Ariel Robertson added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds.  Senior Haylee Oliver had 10 points as well.
 
"We had the turn this thing around speech in the locker room at halftime and we came out with more energy and enthusiasm in the second half and forced turnovers so we were able to get out in transition and get some easy buckets," Watson said.
 
WT shot 50.8 percent for the game on 31 of 61 and shot 56.3 percent in the second half.  The Lady Buffs were 8 of 18 from beyond the arc and 13 of 20 from the line.  They had 30 rebounds with 18 assists and 17 steals. 
 
OC was led by 21 points from McKenzie Stanford as she was 6 of 15 from the field and 8 o 9 from the line with a game-high eight rebounds.  Kaitlyn Morris added 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting with triples in the first half, but was held scoreless in the second.
 
The Eagles shot 45.1 percent from the field on 23 of 51.  They were 8 of 18 from beyond the arc as well and were 16 of 18 from the line.  OC had 35 rebounds with 14 assists and eight steals, but committed 31 turnovers leading to a 36-19 advantage for the Lady Buffs in points off turnovers.
 
Two quick triples and an 8-2 start by the upset-minded Eagles forced the Lady Buffs into a timeout with 18:06 left in the first.  An "and one" for junior Michaela Neuhaus brought the Lady Buffs within 8-5 and a steal and two free throws from junior Danielle made the score 8-7 with 16:25 left. 
 
OC kept a 3-5 point lead through the first nine minutes of the game and held a 17-14 lead with 11:43 left in the half.  Both teams committed a combined 14 turnovers through the first nine minutes.  WT tied the game at 17 with one of two free throws from sophomore Sasha Watson with 10:17 left.
 
A triple from Logan broke a 20-20 tie and gave WT its first lead of the game at 23-20 with 7:42 left in the
 
Watson then scored on a jumper in the paint for a 28-25 lead.  She then had a steal and made one of two free throws for a 29-25 lead.  Morris scored her fourth triple at the other end for a 29-28 deficit.
 
The rest of the half was back-and-forth as neither team gained much of an advantage.  Two free throws by OC at the end of the half gave the Eagles a 39-37 lead as they went a perfect 10 for 10 from the line.  It was the first time this season the Lady Buffs had trailed at half.
 
For the half, WT shot 13 of 28 from the field for 46.4 percent.  The Lady Buffs were 4 of 9 from beyond the arc and 7 of 11 from the line.  WT had 14 rebounds with eight assists and 10 turnovers.  Watson and Logan each had 12 points.
 
OC shot 47.8 percent on 11 of 23.  The Eagles were 7 of 12 from the field with the 10 free throws and had 17 rebounds with nine assists and 15 turnovers.   Morris had a team-high 12 points for the Eagles in the first half.
 
Watson gave the Lady Buffs the lead early in the second with a driving layup and two free throws from senior Ariel Robertson for a 43-40 lead.  A 6-0 run for the Lady Buffs gave them a 51-45 lead with 16:12 left as Watson began to take over with six points early in the second half and 18 for the game to that point.
 
A triple from senior Haylee Oliver swelled the lead to 69-55 with 7:45 left for the largest lead of the game by either team.  A 6-0 run by the Lady Buffs built the lead to a game-high 18 points at 78-60 with 3:06 left and a timeout by the Eagles.
 
The Lady Buffs settled for the 83-70 victory. 
 
WT now has a week off for finals and will host Texas A&M-International next Sunday at 2 p.m. in the First Unite Bank Center.