CANYON, Texas –  The No. 3 West Texas A&M Lady Buff women's basketball team used a 24-point fourth quarter en route to a 74-64 victory over Tuskegee in the first game of the 2016 PAK-A-SAK Lady Buff Thanksgiving Classic.  With the win, WT improved to 4-1 on the year, while Tuskegee fell to 2-4. 

WT had three players in double figures led by a career-high 18 points from junior Sydney Walton as she was 7 of 12 from the field and 4 of 6 from the line, while senior Alie Decker chipped in a season-high 17 points on 5 of 13 from the field with four triples, while senior Sasha Watson had 10 points and six assists.  The Lady Buffs shot an even 50 percent for the game on 26 of 52, while going 6 of 18 from beyond the arc, but really struggled at the line, shooting a season-low 53.3 percent on 16 of 30.  WT held a 36-32 lead in rebounding.

Tuskegee went 22 of 56 from the field for 39.3 percent and was 4 of 18 from beyond the arc, while going 16 of 23 from the line.  Taylor Miller had a game-high 19 points on 6 of 15 from the field with three triples and 4 of 5 from the line, while Rachel Brownlee had 18 points on 6 of 16 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line. 

Tuskegee raced out to a 22-9 lead through the first quarter as it was the largest deficit at the end of a quarter for the season for the Lady Buffs.  WT was just 4 of 12 from the field for the quarter and started making one of its first nine shots.  Tuskegee was 8 of 17 from the field for the quarter. 

The second quarter was quite a different story as the Lady Buffs turned up the pressure and outscored TU 25-8 for a 34-30 lead at halftime.  In the quarter, WT used a 15-2 run for a 24-24 score on a jumper by senior Maddison Wild with 5:15 left in the half.  Junior Madison Parker, the reigning Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week, got an offensive rebound off her own missed shot and a put back for WT's first lead at 26-24 with 4:11 left in the half extending the run to 17-2.  Following a bucket from Miller, Walton gave WT a 28-26 lead with 2:59 left starting a 6-0 run and capped with a pair of charity tosses by Walton at 32-26.  The Tigerettes closed the gap to 34-30 at intermission.

After opening 1 of 9 and 4 of 12 from the field for the first quarter, WT ended the half going 10 of 18 for the second quarter for 14 of 30 for the half and a 46.7 average.  TU cooled off going just 3 of 15 in the second quarter from the field and 11 of 32 for the half for 34.4 percent.  Miller and Decker each had 11 points in the half.

WT continued the solid play out of the second half as it built a 46-37 lead with 4:39 left in the quarter capped on a jumper from Walton.  From there, TU kept chipping away and two free throws pulled the Tigerettes within 50-46 with 1:15 left in the period.  Miller hit a jumper with 10 seconds left pulling Tuskegee within 50-48. 

A triple from Decker broke a tie game with 8:28 left in the fourth and sparked WT to a 9-0 run and a 16-4 run as WT led 67-55 with 3:21 left.  Two free throws from Teja Finley pulled Tuskegee within nine at 69-56 with 1:17 left, but it would be as close as it would get as WT settled for the 74-64 victory.

WT concludes the tournament hosting Colorado Christian Saturday at 5 p.m. as CCU downed Lone Star Conference foe Cameron in overtime in the late game Friday.