Box Score

CANYON, Texas  –  The preseason No. 9 West Texas A&M women's basketball team survived a stiff test from Wayland Baptist in a 67-62 victory Thursday evening in an exhibition game for both teams.  The Lady Buffs were led by four players in double figures as junior Alie Decker had a team-high 16 points off the bench.  Stephanie Afunugo had a game-high 17 points for the Flying Queens.
 
"This was really good for us," WT head coach Kristen Mattio said.  "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.  Junior Maddison Wild was a force inside as she was 7 of 11 from the field for 14 points, while junior Sasha Watson had 10 points with six assists and three steals.  Senior Michaela 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 Thursday evening and Coach 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. 
 
It was the first game for both teams and it showed in the first quarter, as the women's basketball game transitioned from halves to quarters this season.  Both teams were a combined 6 of 28 in the first stanza as WT held a 9-5 lead through the first 10 minutes. 
 
WBU held a 3-2 lead for much of the quarter, but a layup from Decker with 3:41 left put WT up 4-3 for its first lead of the game.  The Lady Buffs would never relinquish the lead again in the contest.  A bucket by Merket cut the WT lead to 6-5 with 2:50 left, but a jumper from sophomore Hannah Alexander and a free throw made the score 9-5. 

The second quarter saw the Lady Buffs explode for 24 points going 11 of 15 from the field and the Flying Queens scored 19 points.  WT used a 16-6 run from the 8:19 mark to the 4:57 mark and a 7-0 run during that span for a 27-14 lead capped by a fastbreak layup from Decker.  Buckets from freshman Taylor LaCour and Wild swelled the lead back to double digits late in the half, by Monreal had a triple at the buzzer for a 33-24 WT lead at intermission.
 
The Lady Buffs kept the lead around 10 points through the third period, but the Flying Queens made a furious rally in the fourth, Decker pushed the lead to 13 with a layup with 6:29 left, but a bucket back-to-back buckets from Merket and a layup from Laura Castillo cut the WT lead to 57-50 with 5:27 left and a timeout by the Lady Buffs.
 
Wild had a big layup in the paint off an assist from senior Madison McLain, but an Afunugo layup and another bucket from Merket pulled WBU within five for the first time since early in the second quarter.
 
Watson scored inside swelling the lead back to six with 3:45 left at 61-55, but two free throws from Castillo cut the lead to 61-57 with 3:28 remaining.  A huge triple from Neuhaus, one of her team-leading three long balls, pushed the lead back to seven at 64-57 with 2:51 remaining. 
 
Monreal went 1 of 2 from the line with one minute left cutting the WT lead back to four at 64-60.  Neuhaus hit another triple with an assist from Watson for a 67-60 lead with 48 seconds left.  Two free throws by Castillo cut deficit to five as Watson got a big offensive rebound with 15 seconds left to seal the win.
 
WT opens the 2015-16 season next Friday, Nov. 13, in the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colo., as the Lady Buffs face Colorado Mines at 5 p.m. (CT) and then against No. 19 Colorado Mesa Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT).