Box Score

Season Stats

WT Postgame

UCCS Postgame

Tournament Central

CANYON, Texas  –  For the second consecutive season, the No. 5 West Texas A&M women's basketball team won the South Central Region Championship with a 96-69 victory over University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Monday night in the First United Bank Center.  With the win, the Lady Buffs will be making their sixth Elite Eight appearance in school history and first back-to-back Elite Eight appearance since 1986-87 and 1987-88.
 
WT now will face a familiar foe in No. 9-ranked Emporia State in the Elite Eight at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 2:30 p.m.  The two teams have met each of the past two seasons with ESU winning both contests.  Emporia State leads the all-time series 8-6 and has won three-straight in the series and four of five, with three of the last five meetings in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The winner of that game will advance to the Final Four to face the winner of Nova Southeastern (Fla.) and California (Pa.) on Wednesday, March 25.  The National Championship is scheduled for Friday, March 27.  WT defeated Nova Southeastern last season in the Final Four.  Along with the Lady Buffs and Nova Southeastern, Limestone, who WT defeated in the Elite Eight last season, and potentially Cal Poly Pomona, all will be repeat qualifiers in the Elite Eight.  The Cal Poly Pomona vs. Cal Baptist game is in progress.
 
Fans can purchase tickets to the Elite Eight by clicking here.
 
The Lady Buffs improved to 30-2 on the year and won their 21^st-straight game which is the second longest active winning streak in NCAA Division II.  The 21 wins in a row is the fifth-most in school history.  WT now has won 30 or more games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history, too, as the Lady Buffs went 32-3 last season earning a berth in the NCAA National Championship game.
 
In game that saw the Lady Buffs have one of their best shooting performances of the season, WT blistered the nets going 33 of 53 from the field for 62.3 percent marking the third time it has shot over 60 percent for a game this season.  The Lady Buffs entered the tournament leading the nation in field goal percentage at a .492 clip.  WT buried 10 triples in 17 attempts (.588) and went 20 of 24 from the line.  The Lady Buffs also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Mountain Lions 38-26, including 29-13 on the defensive end.
 
"We did shoot the ball really well tonight," head coach Mark Kellogg said.  "We were in a pretty good rhythm offensively and we have a lot of kids who can score and we wanted to play at a high pace.  I never expected to shoot like that, that's not going to happen every night.  I give credit to our kids tonight.  We weren't great defensively, they (UCCS) missed a lot of shoots they normally make, but we may have sped them up a little bit."
 
WT senior Haylee Oliver had a game to remember as she led all scorers with 21 points going a perfect 8 of 8 from the field, 4 of 4 from beyond the arc and 1 of 1 from the line.  Her 21 points was a season-best and her four triples tied her career-best set three times during her playing career at Angelo State.  Senior Chontiquah White added 15 points, while senior Ariel Robertson chipped in 13 and sophomore Sasha Watson added 12.  White tied the school career games played record as she played in her 128^th career game tying Von Tucker and Vanessa Wells (1984-88).  Senior Canyon, native, Jordan Vessels played in her 125^th career game Monday night a she tied Angela (Land) Seay for fourth all-time games played.
 
"I watched (WT) online last year at the regional tournament," Oliver said.  "Now getting to experience and be a part of it, cutting down the net and holding the trophy it has been unreal.  It is like a dream I didn't know if I would ever have playing the last two seasons, but I couldn't be more excited as the girls have embraced me and brought me in like I was their own.  It has been an awesome experience."
 
UCCS shot 41 percent from the field on 25 of 61.  The Mountain Lions were 8 of 24 from beyond the arc and 11 of 19 from the line.  Both teams combined for 44 assists and just 21 turnovers between the two teams.  The Mountain Lions were led by 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds from Brittany Hernandez, while Tori Fisher and Abby Kirchoff each had 13 points.
 
Following the game, the South Central Region All-Tournament Team was announced as Oliver and White were named to the team and Kirchoff and Hernandez for UCCS, while Watson was named Most Outstanding Player.  White was named Most Outstanding Player from last year's South Central Regional.
 
WT used a 6-0 run and a pair of 3's from junior Danielle Logan and senior Jordan Vessels for a 17-10 lead with 11:44 left in the first half.  UCCS missed its last five shots and went 2 of its last 10 with three turnovers in the last 2:48 as Watson scored inside extending the lead to 19-10.  UCCS was just 4 of its first 14 shots for 28.6 percent.
 
A triple from Jessica Kienitz off a turnover ended the run by WT and pulled UCCS within 19-13 with just under 10 minutes left in the half.  UCCS heated back up making 4 of it next four shots, while WT  matched the Mountain Lions making seven-straight buckets holding a 27-19 lead with 6:45 left in the first half.
 
Out of a media timeout, Watson drove to the bucket and scored matching WT's largest lead to that point at 29-20.  It was Watson's eighth point of the game.  Oliver scored inside off a nice look from Robertson for a 33-23 lead (making 10 of the last 10) field goals and the third called timeout of the half by UCCS.  Oliver scored inside again for a 35-23 lead for the largest of the half. 
 
Hernandez buried a triple for a 37-25 lead, but Oliver scored the "and one" for a 38-25 lead.  Watson then hit a turnaround jumper to beat the shot clock for a 40-28 lead with 1:50 left in the half.  Watson scored two free throws for a 42-28 lead with 90 seconds left in the half. 
 
A second triple from Hernandez kept the Mountain Lions close, but Oliver matched Hernandez at the other end making the score 45-31 with 48 seconds left in an exciting first half in front of a raucous 1,747 fans.  The Lady Buffs had a pair of good looks in the final 10 seconds of the half, but were unable to score holding the 14-point lead at intermission. 
 
The Lady Buffs shot a blistering 65.4 percent for the first half on 17 of 26 from the field.  They were 4 of 7 from beyond the arc and 7 of 7 from the line.  WT had 14 rebounds with 10 assists to just four turnovers in the first half. 
 
Watson and Oliver led the way with 12 points each as Oliver was a perfect 5 of 5 from the field with a triple.  UCCS shot 12 of 27 from the field for 44.4 percent.  The Lions were 4 of 9 from range and 3 of 4 from the line.  UCCS had 11 rebounds with 11 assists and six miscues as Hernandez led the way with 11 points on 4 of 6 from the field with a triple and two free throws.
 
Junior Zantaya Davis earned the "and one" for a 52-36 lead with 16:48 left.  She then scored inside for a 54-36 lead.  WT opened the second half making four of its first five field goals, while UCCS was two of five.
 
Robertson scored inside pushing the lead to 59-39 for the first 20-point lead of the night.  Junior Madison McLain buried a triple for a 62-42 lead.  Kienitz responded with a triple at the other end for a 62-42 score with 14 minutes left.
 
Oliver swelled the lead back to 23 with a triple off an assist from Watson for a 67-44 lead with 11:42 left in regulation.  It was Oliver's second triple of the game as she was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field to that point.
 
Five quick points from UCCS cut the deficit to 67-49 with 10:30 left, but Vessels scored the "and one" for a 70-49 lead as WT outscored UCCS 51-38 in the second half for the 96-69 victory. 
 
"WT and Buff Nation have been so special to me and leave it with a win like that tonight," Vessels said.  "It has been very special to play for a group of girls like this and the crowd was great tonight and they were loud and really helped us."