Box ScoreSeason StatsCANYON, Texas – Following the disappointing loss in the Lone Star Conference opener on Wednesday at Midwestern State, the No. 3 West Texas A&M women's basketball team responded with an 87-69 victory Saturday afternoon over visiting Cameron University at the First United Bank Center. With the win, the Lady Buffs improved to 10-2 on the year and 1-1 in Lone Star Conference play, while Cameron fell to 4-7 and 1-1 in conference play.
WT shot a season-best 61.8 percent in the game on 34 of 55. It was 8 of 24 from beyond the arc, but struggled from the line going just 11 of 22. The Lady Buffs tallied 32 rebounds in the game, along with 23 assists and 13 steals.
The Lady Buffs had five players in double figures led by 16 points from junior
Danielle Logan on 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 7 from beyond the arc. Sophomore
Sasha Watson added 15 points on 6 of 10 from the field with a triple and had eight assists and three steals.
Cameron was led by 23 points from Jazzmine Robinson with 19 coming in the second half on 8 of 12 from the field with two triples and five free throws. Amarillo native Brandi Leal added 15 points. The Aggies shot 44.2 percent on 23 of 52 from the field and went 10 of 24 from beyond the arc and 13 of 17 from the line. Robinson had just two rebounds in the game, however, as she entered second in the conference in rebounding behind WT senior
Chontiquah White who also had just two rebounds in the contest. White finished with 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting and 4 of 6 from the line.
WT dominated points in the paint to the tune of 42-27 and held a 31-15 lead in points off turnovers forcing the Aggies into 20 miscues.
The Lady Buffs came out on fire making six of their first eight shots with two triples from Logan and forced four Cameron miscues through the first four minutes for a 16-4 lead. Out of the media timeout, junior
Madison McLain and Logan each buried triples for a 22-4 lead and a 15-0 run.
A steal by Watson and a foul swelled the lead to 24-4 and a timeout from Cameron. Out of the timeout, Watson made the free throw for a 25-4 lead and an 18-0 run over the last 3:10 with 14:24 to play. Leal ended the run for Cameron with a triple at top of the arc moments later and added another triple for a 25-10 score with 13:37 left.
Cameron went on a 9-0 run of its own to pull within 25-13, but senior
Jordan Vessels ended the run with a bucket for a 27-13 lead with 11 minutes left in the half. Senior
Haylee Oliver scored in the paint under the 12 timeout for a 29-13 lead.
Two more triples from Leal pulled Cameron within 32-22 with 8:34 left in the half and a timeout by WT as Leal led all scorers to that point with 12 points. Logan responded in kind with her fourth triple out of the timeout swelling the lead back to 13 at 35-22.
Two quick buckets for Watson on assists from Oliver pushed the lead back to 15 at 39-24 with 6:37 left and another timeout by Cameron. Two free throws from senior
Chontiquah White and a steal by senior
Ariel Robertson and layup from Watson swelled the lead to 43-24 and an 8-0 run with 5:29 left.
Oliver hit a bucket at the top of the key for a 46-24 lead and the largest of the game to that point extending the run to 11-0. In transition, Logan scored for a 48-24 lead and a 13-0 run. WT forced Cameron into its 11
th turnover of the game as the Aggies had five turnovers and 0 of 5 shooting over the last 4:31.
Robertson scored in the paint for a 50-24 lead with 2:45 left extending the run to 15-0 over the last 4:43 and 18-2 over the last 6:05. Cameron's DJ Vallier ended the scoring drought of 5:39 with two free throws with 2:10 left and a 50-26 score.
A triple from Jade Herl was Cameron's first field goal (1 of 8) since the 7:55 mark with 1:19 to play and a 52-29 score. Vallier ended the scoring in the half with an offensive rebound and bucket for a 54-31 deficit as WT held Cameron to just 2 of 11 shooting in the final seven minutes of the half.
WT shot a season-best 70 percent from the field on 21 of 30. It was 6 of 13 from beyond the arc and 6 of 9 from the line. WT pulled down 14 rebounds with 17 assists and nine steals. Logan led the way with 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, while Watson added 10 points with a triple, five assists and two steals.
Cameron shot 41.7 percent on 10 of 24. It also was 6 of 13 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 from the line. Leal led the way with 12 points. Jazzmine Robinson, who is tied with White entering the game in scoring in the conference at 18.0 points per game, had just four points in the half and no rebounds as she is third in the league in rebounding behind White and Andrea Carter of Midwestern State at 9.0 rebounds per game.
WT forced Cameron into 12 turnovers leading to a 22-2 lead in points off turnovers and dominated the paint to the tune of 24-11.
Back-to-back triples by Cameron sparked an 8-0 run and timeout by WT with 17:35 left and a 56-39 advantage for the Lady Buffs. Robinson nailed her second triple of the half for a 58-44 score as Cameron opened the half 13-4 run. McLain hit a jumper for a 60-44 advantage with 15:30 left.
McLain buried a triple capping a 9-0 run for a 67-44 WT lead with 12:27 left off a nice assist from Watson in transition.
Oliver scored five quick points on a jumper and a triple for a 77-56 advantage with 7:07 left after Cameron had chipped away and got the deficit back under 20.
The Lady Buffs went on for the 87-69 victory and will host Angelo State Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the First United Bank Center.
