WBCA USA Today Top 25

CANYON, Texas – One of the most crucial weeks of the season begins Wednesday for the No. 10 West Texas A&M women's basketball team as it travels to Tarleton State for a key Lone Star Conference matchup with the TexAnns at 5:30 p.m. in Wisdom Gymnasium.   It is the first of three games for the Lady Buffs this week.
 
Fans can access live stats, streaming, radio and ticket information by logging on to www.gobuffsgo.com and clicking on the women's basketball schedule page.  All three games this week will be broadcast on 98.7 JACK FM with Neil Horn having the call.
 
WT enters the week winners of three straight following a pair of wins last week against Angelo State (80-49) and at Texas A&M-Kingsville (72-55).  The Lady Buffs are 12-2 on the year and tied for first with Cameron in the loss column in conference play with a 3-1 record.  The upstart Aggies are 4-1 in league play. 
 
Following Wednesday's game at Tarleton State, WT returns home to host Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday and Sunday at home at 5:30 p.m. versus Texas Woman's.  TWU defeated Midwestern State Sunday in Wichita Falls, 57-55.
 
The Lady Buffs are No. 10 this week in the USA Today Women's Division II Top 25.  Last week, WT was No. 11.  WT is the only ranked team in the South Central Region in the poll.  Midwestern State and UC-Colorado Springs are receiving votes this week.
 
Tarleton State enters with a 9-4 record and a 3-2 mark in conference play following a split last week as the TexAnns defeated Midwestern State at home 61-56, and lost at Cameron 75-65.  TSU is 5-1 on the year in Wisdom Gymnasium with its lone home loss being to St. Mary's on Nov. 15 in the TexAnn Tipoff Classic.
 
The TexAnns are ranked No. 5 in the latest D2SIDA South Central Region rankings as voted on by a committee of sports information directors from the region.  WT regains the top spot in the rankings following the two losses by Midwestern State this week.  UC-Colorado Springs takes over second, followed by Colorado Mesa, Midwestern State and Tarleton State rounds out the top five. 
 
Tarleton State is led by Kathy Thomas who leads the team averaging 13.8 points per game.  Thomas is 63 of 143 from the field for a .441 average and is a team-best 25 of 60 from beyond the arc for a .417 clip.  She is second in assists with 35 and leads the team with 22 steals.  Iwobi Ipeaku is second in scoring at 12.4 points per game.  Ipeaku is 62 of 139 from the field (.446) and is a team-best 37 of 42 from the line for a league-best .881 clip, while leading the team in rebounding at 8.5 per game which is third in the league.
 
As a team, the TexAnns are shooting .410 from the field, .360 from beyond the arc, ranking second in the league and .758 from the line, which also is second in the conference.  They are averaging 38.2 rebounds per game and allowing 35.4.  TSU is scoring 68.8 points per game and allowing 63.6. 
 
Tarleton State is under first year head coach Misty Wilson who took over as the sixth head coach of the program after being an assistant coach for 12 years.  She replaces Ronnie Hearne who retired Mar. 26 after an 11-year stint as head coach.  Wilson played four seasons for TSU from 1998-2001, scoring 1,440 career points.
 
WT leads the all-time series with Tarleton State 31-8.  The Lady Buffs have won four of five in the series as TSU won last season in Stephenville 71-69 for the first conference loss of the season (and only) for the Lady Buffs a year ago.  The loss snapped a 12-game conference winning streak and a 15-game winning streak overall. 
 
The Lady Buffs are 12-5 all-time in Stephenville, 18-3 in Canyon and 1-0 in neutral site games as WT downed Tarleton State last season in the championship game of the LSC Tournament in Allen, Texas, 76-67.  Since Jan. 28, 2006, WT has gone 14-4 against TSU.  WT won the first 14 in the series and 17 of 19.  The first meeting came on Jan. 22, 1995, in Canyon as WT prevailed 89-56.
 
The Lady Buffs enter with a 12-2 record and are led by senior Chontiquah White who averages a team-high 17.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game.  White is 82 of 146 from the field (.562) and 72 of 92 from the line (.783).  She has six double-doubles on the year to lead the team.  White leads the conference in field goal percentage and ranks second in rebounding. 
 
White has 1,390 career points and is one point from tying for 10^th all-time in school history (Debbie Webb 1974-78).  White also ranks third all-time in free throws made (492) and third in free throws attempted (656).  She is fourth all-time in rebounding with 771 and need just six to move into a tie for third with Teresa Tinner (1986-90).  Brandi Green leads the school record book with 874 all-time rebounds (1997-2001). 
 
Second on the team in scoring is sophomore Sasha Watson who averages 13.1 points per game.  She is 67 of 113 from the field (.593) and leads the team with 51 assists and 49 steals.  Watson is second in the league in assists and leads the conference in steals. 
 
Junior Michaela Neuhaus returned to the court after missing seven games with a broken hand.  She is third in scoring at 10.1 points per game on 27 of 58 from the field.  Neuhaus has 11 triples and is 16 of 18 from the line.  She has 27 assists and 14 steals.  Junior Danielle Logan leads the team with 24 triples, while junior Madison McLain is second in triples with 23.  Logan is fourth in scoring at 8.9 points per game, while McLain is fifth at 8.2
 
As a team, the Lady Buffs are shooting .485 from the field which is third nationally (387 of 798).  The Lady Buffs are 84 of 243 from beyond the arc (.346) and 222 of 331 from the line (.671).  WT averages 37.6 rebounds per game and allows 30.9 which is tops in the league.  The Lady Buffs are averaging 77.1 points per game, which leads the league and allowing 63.1 which is third.
 
Along the high field goal percentage nationally, the Lady Buffs also are 17^th in assists per game at 17.1 which leads the league.  WT is 30^th in rebounding margin, out-rebounding the opposition by 6.7 per game.  The Lady Buffs are 24^th in scoring margin (14.0) and 25^th in scoring offense (77.1).  They are 12^th in steals (11.9), while leading the league in turnover margin at 2.29. 
 
Individually, White is 21^st in field goal percentage (.562) and Watson is eighth in steals at 3.50 per game. White also leads the league with six double-doubles which is 47^th nationally.