Box ScoreSeason StatsLAWTON, Okla. – The top-ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buff women's basketball team outscored Cameron 47-22 in the second half en route to a 76-52 win Sunday afternoon. With the win, WT improved to 15-0 and 4-0 in Lone Star Conference play, while Cameron fell to 8-5 and 2-2 in conference play.
WT senior
Michaela Neuhaus had a Lady Buff career-high 26 points on 9 of 15 from the field and 6 of 10 from beyond the arc and 2 of 2 from the line. She had three assists and two steals leading three Lady Buffs in double figures. Senior
Zantaya Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while junior
Alie Decker chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds playing all 40 minutes.
The Lady Buffs shot just 35.5 percent from the field in the first half, but came out on fire in the second shooting 59.3 percent on 16 of 27 and 46.6 percent for the game on 27 of 58. WT was 8 of 17 from beyond the arc (.471) and 14 of 18 from the line. The Lady Buffs tallied 41 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive end for a 41-33 lead in rebounding.
Cameron opened the game shooting 10 of 26 from the field for 38.5 percent, but the Lady Buff "D" stymied the Aggies – especially in the fourth quarter shooting 7 of 29 for the half for 24.1 percent and 17 of 55 for 30.9 percent for the game. CU was 5 of 23 from beyond the arc and 13 of 20 from the line.
Following ten first quarter turnovers by the Lady Buffs, WT turned over just six times the rest of the way and held a 23-16 lead in points off turnovers, along with a 30-23 lead in points in the paint.
WT and Cameron both came out of fire as the teams combined for 17 points through the first four minutes making shots both inside and out. A jumper in the lane by DJ Vallier gave Cameron its first lead of the game at 10-9 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
Out of the first media timeout, Decker, an Edmond, Okla., native, made both free throws as WT regained the lead at 11-10 with 4:44 left in the first. Davis picked up a loose ball and put back for a 13-10 lead with 3:38 left in the quarter. Three turnovers by the Lady Buffs proved costly as Cameron made the final two buckets of the quarter for a 16-13 lead.
WT uncharacteristically had 10 first quarter turnovers and was 5 of 13 from the field (.385) with one triple and two free throws. Cameron went 6 of 13 from the field (.462) with one triple and three free throws. WT led 10-4 in rebounding, but Cameron held a 9-4 lead in points off turnovers.
Watson followed her own shot and earned two shots as the Lady Buffs regained the lead at 17-16 with 7:26 left in the first half, scoring the first four points of the quarter. The Aggies used a 6-0 run for a 22-17 lead with 5:07 left highlighted by a triple from Natalie Halbleib.
Out of a media timeout, junior
Sasha Watson found Neuhaus open for a triple and 22-20 deficit. WT opened the game just 7 of 21 from the field, while Cameron was 8 of 18. A steal and layup off a missed shot for Brandi Leal gave Cameron its largest lead at 26-20 with four minutes left in the half.
Davis got a big block at one and end and scored inside bringing WT within 26-24 with 2:49 left in the half. Neuhaus then buried a triple for a 27-26 WT lead as it countered with a 7-0 run and a timeout by Cameron with 2:16 left.
The Aggies made two free throws with 14 seconds left for a 30-29 lead. WT had a good look at a bucket, but a block from Vallier ended the scoring threat as Cameron led 30-29 at halftime. It was just the second time WT has trailed at half this season with the first being against Colorado Mesa on Nov. 14 in Golden, Colo. WT came back to win that game 56-48, outscoring CMU 32-21 in the second half.
For the half, WT shot just 11 of 30 from the field for a .367 average. The Lady Buffs were 3 of 10 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 from the line. WT held a 22-12 lead in rebounding, but 14 turnovers proved costly as Cameron led 14-6 in points off turnovers. Neuhaus had 11 points for the Lady Buffs on 4 of 8 shooting with three triples.
Cameron shot 10 of 25 for 40 percent from the field and 2 of 11 from beyond the arc. The Aggies were helped out by 8 of 10 from the line in a game that saw four ties and nine lead changes. Threatt led the way with seven points.
WT came out of the gates in the second half on fire as junior
Maddison Wild scored inside on an assist from junior
Lilley Vander Zee for a 31-30 lead with 9:18 left in the quarter. Leal buried her second of three triples for a 33-31 lead for Cameron moments later, but Wild hit another jumper for a 33-33 score and the fifth tie with 8:02 left.
Leal hit her third long ball breaking a tie, but Decker answered with a triple with 6:53 left in the quarter as WT never trailed the rest of the way.
Threatt tied the game at 42 later in the quarter for the eighth tie with 4:44 left. From there, WT finished the quarter on an 8-1 run for a 50-43 lead with a layup in the paint from Davis with two seconds left.
A triple from Neuhaus to open the fourth set the tone for the final stanza as WT outscored Cameron 26-9 in the quarter. Halbleib hit a triple in the first minute, but only scored one field goal the rest of the game as they went 2 for 11 in the quarter.
Following the Halbleib triple, WT countered with a 15-1 run capped with a triple from Neuhaus for a 68-47 lead with 4:17 left.
The Lady Buffs finish the three-game home stand Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Angelo State, before hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville next Saturday at 2 p.m. in the First United Bank Center.
