CANYON, Texas  –  The No. 9 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs women's basketball team has a quick turnaround as it travels to St. Edward's for a 6 p.m. tip Wednesday evening.
 
The Lady Buffs (2-0) are coming off of a pair of key region victories over the weekend at the 2^nd Annual Tony Corbetta Oredigger Classic.  WT downed host Colorado School of Mines 65-42 in the season-opener last Friday and then battled back from a 10-point deficit to defeat No. 19 Colorado Mines 56-48 as the Lady Buffs outscored the Mavericks 16-5 in the final quarter. 
 
St. Edward's (1-0) enters following a 60-50 victory over Southwest Christian (Okla.) last Friday and dropped a close 52-44 exhibition at Division I Texas State on Sunday.  Against the Bobcats, SEU had a 14-point lead through three quarters against Texas State and was led by Shakera Barnes' game-high 18 points. 
 
WT shot 45.1 percent for the weekend on 46 of 102 from the floor.  The Lady Buffs were 12 of 30 from beyond the arc and struggled at the line going just 17 of 27 for a 63 percent average.  They pulled down 33.5 rebounds per game.  They had 29 assists, 31 steals and scored 121 points for a 60.5 average. 
 
Conversely, the Lady Buffs played good defense over the weekend holding teams to .317 from the field on 33 of 104.  The opposition was 13 of 39 from beyond the arc and 11 of 20 from the line.  WT allowed 32.5 rebounds per game and forced 41 turnovers, while allowing 90 points for a 45.0 average.
 
WT senior Michaela Neuhaus leads the team at 11.0 points per game as she is 7 of 12 from the field (.583) and buried team-high four triples, while going 4 of 5 from the line.  She is second on the team in assists with seven and second in steals with nine.  Junior Sasha Watson is second in scoring at 10.0 points per game she is 8 of 19 from the field (.421), with one triple and leads the team with 11 assists and nine steals.  Junior transfer Alie Decker is third in scoring at 9.5 points and is second from range at 3 of 9 from beyond the arc. 
 
The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series with St. Edward's 4-0 including a 90-72 victory in Canyon in the NCAA South Central Regional on Mar. 14, 2014.  WT is 3-0 in Canyon and 1-0 in Austin with a 79-75 victory on Nov. 13, 1998.  Prior to the meeting in 2014, the teams hadn't played since 2006. 
 
WT is 27^th nationally in field goal percentage defense holding teams to a .317 clip. They are 10^th in scoring defense holding teams to 45 points per game and 14^th in steals per game at a 15.5 clip.  WT leads the Lone Star Conference in 3-point field goal percentage at 40 percent ranking 36^th nationally.  Individually, Watson is 41^st in assist/turnover ratio at a 3.67 clip and is 44^th in assists at 5.5 per game.  She is 19^th nationally in steals per game at 4.5 which leads the conference, while Neuhaus is 50^th at 3.5 per game.
 
St. Edward's was picked fourth in the Heartland Conference as voted on by the coaches and sports information directors.  Head coach J.J. Riehl is in her fourth season as two starters and five letterwinners return from last season's 15-12 squad.
 
Barnes a junior transfer from Blinn runs the point for the Hilltoppers, while wing Mileka Loydrake returns who earned all-conference honors last season at 13.9 points per game ranking second on the team.  In the frontcourt Lexi Fatheree returns as she averaged 14.2 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game leading the team in scoring. 
 
In the outing against Southwest Christian, three Hilltoppers were in double figures led by 13 points off the bench from Abby Hopper.  SEU shot 24 of 61 from the field, 7 of 20 from range and 5 of 9 from the line.  The Hilltoppers pulled down 37 rebounds with 13 assists and 13 steals.  SEU had a 52-35 lead after three quarters before Southwestern Christian finished the game 15-8 in the fourth quarter to close the margin to 60-50.
 
The Hilltoppers are 36^th nationally in offensive rebounds per game with 17, while ranking 35^th in rebounding margin at 11.0 per game.  Like the Lady Buffs, SEU is 17^th in scoring defense allowing 50 points in its first game of the season.  SEU is 26^th in steals at 13.0 per game and 25^th in turnovers per game at 12.0.  Barnes is 27^th in assists per game at 6.0, while Khiani Clark had six steals in the opener ranking her third nationally. 
 
Following Wednesday's game, the Lady Buffs return home for 2015-16 home-opener Saturday at 2 p.m. versus New Mexico Highlands at the First United Bank Center.