Box Score

Season Stats

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The No. 7 West Texas A&M women's basketball team couldn't hold onto a 16-point lead early in the third quarter as Tarleton State roared back in the second half, outscoring WT 35-21 for a 53-52 victory.  WT fell to 23-3 on the year and 12-3 in Lone Star Conference play, while Tarleton State won its league-leading seventh-straight game and now is 16-9 overall and 10-5 in league play.
 
The Lady Buffs fall into a tie in the loss column with Angelo State in the conference race.  WT has one game remaining at Eastern New Mexico next Saturday, while Angelo State, who won at Midwestern State Saturday, plays at Texas Woman's tomorrow and at Texas A&M-Kingsville next Saturday.
 
WT had just two players in double figures as senior Michaela Neuhaus tallied 11 points with three triples and junior Lilley Vander Zee tallied 10 points off the bench.  WT went 20 of 50 from the field and 5 of 14 from beyond the arc, while going a perfect 7 of 7 from the line.  WT held a 31-20 lead in rebounding, but committed 21 turnovers to 19 for TSU and lead 27-12 in points off turnovers. 
 
The TexAnns had 11 points from Morgan Ashmore with three triples and Breanna Fuller added 10 points.  TSU shot 51.2 percent on 21 of 41.  It was 6 of 12 from beyond the arc and 5 of 7 from the line.  The TexAnns were the first team to hit over 50 percent from the field against WT this season. 
 
In a very low scoring first quarter, WT junior Sasha Watson scored the first field goal of the game, but WT went cold from there with three turnovers and a 4:09 scoring drought as Tarleton State led 4-2 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.  WT opened 1 of 5, while Tarleton State was 2 of 6.  The 9-8 WT lead at the end of the first quarter was the lowest scoring quarter of the season for the Lady Buffs.
 
Junior Maddison Wild made two free throws to end the drought with 4:03 left in the quarter tying the game at four.  Senior Michaela Neuhaus buried a triple for a 9-6 lead with just over a minute left in the quarter and the first WT lead of the game.  For the quarter, WT led 9-8 and was 3 of 11 from the field, while TSU was 4 of 10. 
 
Raven McGrath hit a triple with 7:02 left in the first half for a 16-13 TSU lead.  The cold shooting continued for the Lady Buffs going 1 of 5 to start the quarter.  TSU heated up to 7 of 14 from the field, while WT was just 5 of 17. 
 
A 7-0 run by the Lady Buffs capped on a layup from sophomore Madison Parker gave WT a 20-16 lead as TSU turned it over three times in the last 2:13 with 4:52 left forcing the TexAnns in to a timeout.  WT extended the run to 12-0 and a 25-16 lead with 2:47 left in the half as TSU was held scoreless for the last 4:18. 
 
Parker drilled just her third triple of the season capping the run. Tiara Tatum ended the run with a jumper, but a layup from Parker pushed the lead back to nine at 27-18 as WT made 5 of its last seven field goals and a 14-2 run.  Parker added another bucket for a 29-18 lead with 54 seconds left.  It was her ninth point of the game. 
 
Neuhaus scored off the 37^th block of the season for senior Zantaya Davis as she moved into a tie for 10^th all-time in school-history in blocks in a season for a 31-18 lead as WT closed the half on an 18-2 run over the final 6:20. 
 
WT went 12 of 26 from the field (.462) and was 2 of 6 from beyond the arc and 5 of 5 from the line.  Parker was 4 of 6 from the field in the first half.  TSU finished 8 of 18 from the field and 2 of 6 from beyond the arc. 
 
The Lady Buffs forced TSU into 12 turnovers and held a 20-2 lead in points off turnovers for the half.  WT also head a 14-10 lead in rebounding. 
 
WT scored five of the first seven points of the third quarter for a 36-20 lead, but Ashmore answered with a triple for a 36-25 score with 7:06 left in the quarter.  After a bucket from Davis, Ashmore buried her second triple for a 38-28 score with 6:12 left in the third.
 
Two free throws from Vander Zee gave WT a 40-28 lead with 5:58 left.  Both teams heated up in the second half as WT was 4 of 4 and Tarleton State made its first five shots.    Ashmore buried her third triple cutting the deficit to 40-33 with 4:30 left, but junior Maddison Wild scored a layup for a 42-33 lead with 4:22 remaining in the quarter.
 
Vander Zee pushed the lead back to ten at 44-34, but Ikpeaku Iwobi scored at the other end for a 44-36 lead with 2:24 left as TSU made its last seven shots.  Tatum buried a triple pulling the TexAnns within 44-41 with 55 seconds left and a 7-0 run as TSU made eight of its last nine shots and a WT timeout.  TSU scored a bucket out of the timeout pulling within 44-43 at the end of three quarters on a bucket from Breanna Fuller.
 
Tatum tipped in a bucket for a 45-44 lead with 9:27 left, for the TexAnns first lead since 16-15 in the second quarter.  Megan O'Dell scored a layup for a 47-44 lead with nine minutes left.  Watson scored inside cutting the deficit to 47-46 with 7:45 left. 
 
O'Dell hit two free throws extending the lead to 49-46 with 5:40 remaining.  Fuller pushed the lead to five with a bucket for a 51-46 lead with 4:47 left as WT went on a 3:23 scoreless streak for the TexAnns largest lead of the game.  A missed triple from Neuhaus and a turnover by the Lady Buffs gave the ball back to TSU with 4:20 left.
 
Junior Alie Decker buried a big triple for a 51-49 deficit with 2:28 left off an assist from Neuhaus.  Iwobi scored for a 53-49 lead, but Neuhaus answered with a triple for a 53-52 deficit with 1:18 left and a WT timeout.
 
A big turnover by O'Dell with 48 seconds left as Neuhaus got the theft giving the Lady Buffs the chance at the lead or tie.  Ashmore fouled with 33 seconds left.  Bailey Wipff fouled with 13 seconds left and a timeout by TSU.  Watson missed the jumper as time expired.