CANYON, Texas  –  The No. 9 West Texas A&M Lady Buff women's basketball team is scheduled to open the 2015-16 season Friday and Saturday at the 2^nd Annual Tony Corbetta Oredigger Classic on the campus of Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo. 
 
The Lady Buffs are scheduled to face the host Orediggers at 5 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Nov. 13, followed by a neutral site matchup with No. 19 Colorado Mesa Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. (CT).  Fans can access live stats and streaming of the games by logging on to www.gobuffsgo.com and clicking on the women's basketball schedule page.
 
OPENING TIP QUICK HITS

• The Lady Buffs are ranked ninth and 17^th in the initial two NCAA Division II Women's Basketball polls
• This is the fifth time in the last six years WT has opened the season on the road
• WT is 28-7 in season openers since 1980-81 and lost in its opener last season at home to UT-Permian Basin 77-73 and the Lady Buffs are 1-3 in the last four season-openers
• This is the first season under new head women's coach Kristen Mattio as she was the associate head coach the past two seasons
• The Lady Buffs have gone 62-6 the past two seasons with two trips to the Elite Eight and one national championship runner-up finish (2014) and won back-to-back Lone Star Conference regular season, tournament and NCAA South Central Region championships
• WT senior Michaela Neuhaus returns to Colorado as she hails from Lone Tree, Colo., and played at the University of Denver before transferring to WT last season
• The Lady Buffs are 4-0 all-time against Colorado Mesa and this will be the first meeting against Colorado Mines

 
WT enters under the direction of head coach Kristen Mattio as the team returns six players from last season's 30-3 team that won their second-straight Lone Star Conference regular season, tournament and South Central Region championship advancing to the Elite Eight for the second-straight year. 
 
Returning for the Lady Buffs this season is junior guard Sasha Watson who was named Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year by the league's coaches, sports information directors and select media representatives.  Watson finished second on the team in scoring last season at 13.0 points per game as she played in all 33 games with 29 starts.
 
The Amarillo, native, was named LSC Defensive Player of the Year, first team all-conference and was named to the LSC All-Defensive Team.  She earned second team Daktronics All-South Central Region honors and was named the South Central Region Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
 
Along with Watson, the Lady Buffs have a nice blend of returners and new faces for the 2015-16 season under the direction of Mattio who took over head coaching duties of the Lady Buff program this past summer when former head coach Mark Kellogg became the head coach at Stephen F. Austin.  This is Mattio's third year with the Lady Buffs as she was the associate head coach for Kellogg the past two seasons.
 
Also returning this season is senior Madison McLain who was second on the team last season in made 3's with 51 and third in assists with 81, while ranking second behind Watson in steals with 47.  McLain earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a junior for the Lady Buffs.  Senior Michaela Neuhaus played in 27 games with eight starts for the Lady Buffs.  She tallied 66 assists and 31 steals on the year and scoring 6.1 points per game.  Senior Zantaya Davis, along with junior Maddison Wild and sophomore Bailey Thiel also return.
 
Four talented freshmen and five key transfers complete the roster for 2015-16.  The Lady Buffs added the services of junior guard Alie Decker (Wichita State), junior center Lilley Vander Zee (Texas), junior guard Ellyn Avery (Abilene Christian), sophomore forward Madison Parker (Abilene Christian and  sophomore guard Hannah Alexander from Cowley County Community College. 
 
The four freshman added for 2015-16 are; guard Reagan Haynes (Gruver, Texas), guard Amanda Bell (Midland, Texas), guard Andee Decker (Edmond, Okla.) and forward Taylor LaCour (Georgetown, Texas).  Andee Decker is the sister of transfer Alie Decker.
 
The Lady Buffs were picked ninth in the initial Women 's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) USA Today NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, released by the WBCA.  WT was 17^th in the Women's Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25 and Watson was named to the WDIIB Super 16 Preseason All-America Team.
 
WT also was picked as the top team in the South Central Region in the Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll, sponsored by the D2 Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).  The D2SIDA Poll is voted on by two sports information directors from each of the region's conferences, the Lone Star Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Heartland Conference.  Lubbock Christian, in its first year eligible for the NCAA postseason, is second in the poll, followed by Colorado Mesa, Texas Woman's and UC-Colorado Springs.  Arkansas-Fort Smith is sixth, followed by Midwestern State, Colorado State-Pueblo, Colorado Christian and Cameron rounds out the initial poll.
 
Mattio and the Lady Buffs will need to replace 37.4 points per game from last season in graduated seniors Chontiquah White (17.5 ppg.),  Ariel Robertson (9.8),  Haylee Oliver (6.4) and Jordan Vessels (3.7).  WT averaged 79.0 points per game last season and led the nation in field goal percentage (.487) for the second-straight season.  Also gone from last season is Danielle Logan (7.8 ppg.).
 
In its first action of the season, West Texas A&M fought off a pesky Wayland Baptist team in a 67-62 exhibition victory on Nov. 5. 
 
"This was really good for us," Mattio said following the game.  ""We are going to learn a lot from this game – the turnovers were a huge red flag we need to fix very soon.  We have a lot of new faces who are learning to gel with the system.  We are going to have to be patient and continue to work through it each day." 
 
WT shot 53.8 percent for the game on 28 of 52 from the floor.  The Lady Buffs were 5 of 14 from beyond the arc and 6 of 8 from the line.  WT pulled down 43 rebounds and 12 on the offensive end, while tallying 20 assists to go along with 30 turnovers, three blocks and 12 steals.  Wild was a force inside as she was 7 of 11 from the field for 14 points, while Watson had 10 points with six assists and three steals.  Neuhaus chipped in 11 points.  Decker was 7 of 12 from the field with six rebounds and a game-high five steals.
 
A total of 11 players saw action in the game and Mattio commented after the game on trying different lineups to find the right mix of players.  "We are trying to find the best group that fits together.  With so many new faces right now, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what that is.  We need them to play together, get game experience and see how they respond in different situations."
 
WBU, ranked 10^th in the preseason National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll, shot 32.4 percent on 22 of 68.  The Flying Queens were 6 of 22 from range and 12 of 16 from the line.  WBU had 31 rebounds in the game and 18 on the offensive end, along with 14 assists, 18 turnovers and a game-high 15 steals.  Along with Afunugo, Maci Merket had 16 points and Canyon native Shawna Monreal added 10 points. 
 
Colorado Mines enters the season on the heels of a 13-15 season in 2014-15 and an 8-14 mark in RMAC play.  Senior Courtney Martin was named to the Preseason All-RMAC team as the Orediggers were picked ninth in the preseason poll and fourth in the Mountain Division. 
  
Martin was a 2014-15 honorable mention all-league selection as the team's returning leading scorer from last year at 14.8 points per game marking sixth-best in the league.  She shot 48.9 percent from the field, hauled in 5.7 rebounds per game and led the team in blocks at 0.9 per game.  Colorado Mines was the third-leading team in scoring in the RMAC last season at 66.9 points per game and return 61 percent of the scoring for this season.
 
Colorado Mesa's season ended in the NCAA Regional at West Texas A&M last year as the Mavericks lost 68-65 to Arkansas-Fort Smith, the team who the Mavericks face in this season-opener Friday.  CMU lost to WT in a thrilling 59-56 regional final on Mar. 17, 2014, at the First United Bank Center as the Lady Buffs earned the bid to Erie, Pa., for the Elite Eight.  Prior to that game, the teams hadn't played since a 93-50 win by WT in Grand Junction on Dec. 28, 2008.  The teams have never met at a neutral site.
 
The Mavericks have won the last three RMAC regular season championships and faces five of the eight regional qualifiers from last season in 2015-16.  CMU was picked first in the league preseason RMAC poll and tallied 11 first-place nods.  CMU was 23-6 last season and Erin Reichle was named Preseason Player of the Year.  Reichle is a name Lady Buff fans know well from the past two NCAA regionals in Canyon.    Erika Musante is the lone returning starter this weekend for the Mavericks as Reichle is recovering from an injury. 
 
CMU has 11 new players on its roster for head coach Taylor Wagner.  He is in his fourth season at CMU and has an 84-10 record.  Three players are transferring in from junior colleges and two are coming from four year schools. 
 
Following the tournament, the Lady Buffs continue on the road with a quick turnaround at St. Edward's on Wed., Nov. 18, before returning home to host New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 21 for the 2015-16 home-opener.  St. Edward's was picked fourth in the Heartland Conference.