Box Score

Season Stats

CANYON, Texas  –  The No. 6 West Texas A&M women's basketball team fought off a furious second half rally by No. 22 Midwestern State for a thrilling 59-55 victory Wednesday evening at the First United Bank Center.  With the win, WT won its 10^th-straight game and improved to 19-2 on the year and 10-1 in Lone Star Conference play, while MSU fell to 18-4 and 9-3 in league play.
 
WT led 57-52 with one minute remaining but a pair of free throws from MSU cut the deficit to 57-54.  With 38 seconds left, MSU's Andrea Carter made one of two free throws for a 57-55 score.  WT senior Chontiquah White came with one of her game-high 13 rebounds on the defensive end and then pulled down her biggest offensive rebound of the season with 14 seconds left. 
 
Out of a timeout, MSU's Lisa Hampton followed junior Madison McLain who calmly knocked down two free throws with eight seconds left for a 59-55 score.  After a timeout by MSU, WT senior Haylee Oliver came up with a steal with two seconds left as the clock expired. 
 
With the win, coupled with the men's win, WT evened the Highway 287 Challenge Cup at 7-7 as Midwestern State held a 7-5 lead entering Wednesday's doubleheader.  It also marked the first doubleheader sweep for both the women and the men over MSU since Feb. 22, 2012. 
 
WT now travels to Cameron for a 2 p.m. matchup with the Aggies in Lawton, Okla., Saturday.  Cameron enters a half game behind WT in the LSC standings at 13-8 overall and 10-2 in league play.  WT won the earlier meeting 87-69 on Jan. 10 in Canyon.
 
For the game Wednesday,  it was a tale of two halves for the Lady Buffs as WT dominated the first half and led 27-13 at intermission, but MSU came roaring back in the second half shooting 53.6 percent for the half on 15 of 28 from the field with four triples and 8 of 10 from the line.  WT played its best defensive half of the season, holding MSU to 5 of 27 from the field in the first half and 3 of 4 from the line, while the Mustangs were 0 of 5 from beyond the arc.
 
The Lady Buffs were led by a pair of double-doubles as White led the way with 18 points and 13 rebounds and senior Ariel Robertson tallied her third career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Sophomore Sasha Watson had 12 points with three assists and four steals.
 
WT shot an even 40 percent in each half and was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and 15 of 23 from the line for 65.2 percent.  Both teams had 36 rebounds in the contest, but 12 second half turnovers by the Lady Buffs allowed MSU to hold a 20-12 lead in points off turnovers. 
 
MSU was led by Shatoia Gober who had 12 points and four rebounds, while Shambreka Jones added 10 points and Andrea Carter had 10 rebounds and nine points just missing a double-double. 
 
In a very defensive and low-scoring first half, the MSU scored the first field goal of the game for a 2-1 lead with 18:06 left.  The lady Buffs then built an 8-2 lead, as both teams struggled shooting.  Carter scored with 12:36 left for MSU's second field goal of the contest and an 8-4 score.
 
From there, WT went on a 17-2 run for a 25-6 lead with 4:32 left in the half on a steal from junior Michaela Neuhaus and layup from Watson for a 25-6 lead.  The Mustangs got into double-digits late in the half, closing the half on a 5-2 run for a 27-13 score at intermission.
 
The 13 points were the fewest allowed by WT in a half this season and eighth-fewest in the first half in school history.  The previous fewest this season was 16 points at Adams State on Nov. 22.  The 13 points scored by MSU also was a season-low for the Mustangs.
 
Robertson led all scorers at halftime with 11 points as she was 3 of 5 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line with a team-high six rebounds.  Watson had six points and two assists, along with two steals.  The Lady Buffs shot 40 percent from the field on 10 of 25.  They were 1 of 4 from beyond the arc and 6 of 10 from the line.  Both teams had 20 rebounds in the half. 
 
MSU was just 5 of 27 from the field for 18.5 percent.  The Mustangs were 0 of 5 from range and 3 of 4 from the line.  MSU had just one assist with 13 first half miscues, leading to a 10-4 lead for WT in points off turnovers.  WT turned it over just seven times and dominated inside outscoring MSU 16-6 in points in the paint.
 
A triple from junior Danielle Logan early in the second half gave WT a 33-17 lead, but a 6-0 run and five WT miscues later brought the Mustangs within 33-23 with 15:30 left.  It was the closest MSU had been since the 8:28 mark of the first half at 13-4. 
 
MSU extended the run to 8-0, but Logan buried her second triple of the half at the other end ending the run and pushing the WT lead to 36-25 with 14:14 left.  A "hoop-and-harm" bucket for White pushed the lead to 40-27 with 12:25 left.
 
A banked in triple from Janae McJunkins was the first for the Mustangs in the game (1 of 9) cutting the WT lead to 40-30 with under 12 minutes remaining.   McJunkins buried her second triple for a 40-33 WT lead with 11 minutes left.  
 
MSU scored in transition for a 8-0 run cutting the deficit to five points at 40-35 with 10 minutes to go as WT went one of its last eight.  McJunkins then scored her third triple of the half cutting the deficit to 40-38 and a timeout by WT with 8:53 left extending the run to 11-0 over the last 3:14.
 
Robertson tallied her first double-double of the season with her 10^th rebound (11 points) and a transition old-fashion triple for Watson ended the run for a 42-38 WT lead with 7:50 remaining.  MSU's Lisa Hampton, who entered with 54 triples on year, buried her first for a 42-41 WT lead, but White scored the hoop-and-harm at the other end for a 45-41 lead.
 
White scored inside off a miscue by MSU for a 47-41 lead and a 5-0 run with 6:27 left.  Carter scored inside cutting the WT lead to 47-44 with six minutes remaining as MSU made six of its last eight field goals. 
 
McLain hit a triple in transition for a 52-44 lead with 4:52 left and timeout by MSU.  Carter scored her eighth point out of the timeout silencing the crowd and then Diana Jones stole the ball and scored in transition for a 52-48 WT lead with 3:55 left. 
 
Shambreka Jones cut the deficit to 52-50 with 2:30 left, but White had a hoop-and-harm again for her 18^th point of the game and a 55-50 WT lead with 2:23 left.  White pulled down her 11^th rebound and Watson scored off an assist from McLain for a 57-50 lead with 1:40 left.