Box ScoreSeason StatsKINGSVILLE, Texas – The No. 6 West Texas A&M women's basketball team responded after the heartbreaking, triple overtime loss to Angelo State on Wednesday, with a 62-41 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday afternoon. With the win, WT improved to 20-2 on the year and 9-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUK fell to 5-15 and 0-10 in league play.
For the game, WT shot 54.5 percent on 24 of 44. The Lady Buffs were 4 of 11 from beyond the arc and 10 of 17 from the line. WT pulled down 36 rebounds and had 16 assists, but committed 26 turnovers and recorded 13 steals. Senior
Michaela Neuhaus led the way with a game-high 14 points on 5 of 9 from the field and 2 of 6 from range with two free throws and seven assists. Junior
Sasha Watson had 11 points on 4 of 6 from the field with three free throws. Senior
Zantaya Davis had a team-high nine reobunds.
TAMUK shot just 25 percent for the game on 12 of 48. The Javelinas were 2 of 9 from beyond the arc and 15 of 20 from the line. TAMUK had 29 rebounds and committed 21 turnovers. Reneisha Alfred had 10 points off the bench to lead the team.
After an early field goal by TAMUK, the Lady Buffs rattled off eight straight, but a triple by Kaylin Roher and a bucket from Lily Hospers pulled the Javelinas within 10-7 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.
WT went cold as TAMUK cut the deficit to 10-8, but a field goal with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter by junior
Alie Decker ended a streak of almost six scoreless minutes for a 12-8 lead with 30 seconds left.
The Lady Buffs went 5 of 11 from the field in the first quarter, while TAMUK was 3 of 11. The Lady Buffs were 0 of 4 from range and 2 of 3 from the line. WT led 11-5 in rebounding. The Lady Buffs committed eight turnovers in the quarter to six for TAMUK.
WT jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the early moments of the second quarter as junior
Sasha Watson and junior
Maddison Wild each had buckets for the largest lead of the game to that point. Senior
Michaela Neuhaus buried a triple for a 22-16 lead with 3:25 left in the first half.
Buckets from sophomore
Hannah Alexander and Wild swelled the lead to 26-17 with 1:27 left in the first half. Neuhaus hit a triple putting WT up 29-18 with 25 seconds left for the first double-digit lead of the game at the half.
For the half, WT was led by 10 points from Neuhaus on 4 of 6 from the field with two triples. The Lady Buffs shot 52.2 percent on 12 of 23 from the field. They were 2 of 7 from range and 3 of 5 from the line, while pulling down 18 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
TAMUK shot 27.3 percent from the field on 6 of 22. The Javelinas were 1 of 2 from range and 5 of 8 from the line, while pulling down 12 rebounds and six offensively. Both teams committed a combined 25 turnovers in the half with WT having 14 and TAMUK with 11. TAMUK led 10-9 in points off turnovers.
Six-straight points by the Lady Buffs with buckets from Watson, Neuhaus and Wild gave WT a 35-18 lead with 7:32 left in the third quarter and a timeout by the Javelinas. Out of the timeout, TAMUK answered with a 7-0 run cutting the WT lead to 35-24. Sophomore
Madison Parker ended the run with a layup for a 37-24 lead with 5:30 left in the third.
Four free throws from Neuhaus and Alexander gave WT a 40-24 lead before a triple from Roher for a 40-27 lead with 3:06 left in the quarter. WT led 46-28 at the end of the third quarter.
Five quick points for the Javelinas early in the fourth brought them to within 48-33 with 7:10 left. Watson got into double figures with a bucket for a 50-33 lead with 6:44 remaining ending the mini run and earned the "and one" for a 51-33 lead. Senior
Madison McLain buried a triple for a 54-33 lead.
WT went on for the 62-41 victory. The Lady Buffs continue on the road Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at rival Midwestern State in Wichita Falls in the annual Highway 287 Challenge Series. WT then returns home to host Texas Woman's a week from today at 2 p.m. in the First United Bank Center.