CANYON, Texas – Behind a game-high 23 points from senior Sasha Watson, the West Texas A&M women's basketball team pulled away after a slow start for a 73-50 victory over visiting Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday afternoon at the First United Bank Center.  With the win, WT improved to 13-4 on the year and 6-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while TAMUK fell to 8-6 and 3-5 in league play.

After shooting just 16.7 percent in the first quarter on 2 of 12 and a season-low five points in the frame, WT responded going 25 of 40 from the field the rest of the way and 27 of 52 from the field for a .519 clip.  The Lady Buffs were 4 of 14 from beyond the arc and 15 of 20 from the line.  WT outrebounded TAMUK 46-24 and 36-16 on the defensive end.  Junior Sydney Walton had 15 points off the bench, while Watson led the way with six assists. 

TAMUK opened the game making 6 of its first 13 shots, but went just 13 of 48 the rest of the way for 19 of 61 for the game for a .311 clip.  TAMUK was 6 of 20 from range and 6 of 10 from the line.  Meesha Wade had a team-high 12 points for the Javelinas.

Both teams struggled out of the gate as the teams combined for just two of their first ten as the score was tied 2-2 with five minutes left in the quarter.  Junior Sydney Walton took a charge with 4:16 left in the quarter for the first media timeout as WT hadn't scored in the last 5:15 and TAMUK in the last 2:50.

Following the seventh turnover by WT, TAMUK's Kelly Kana buried a triple for a 5-2 TAMUK lead ending a long drought.  WT missed its last seven shots and hadn't scored in the last 7:09.  Following a missed shot but the Lady Buffs, TAMUK scored inside for a 7-2 lead and then added a floater in the lane for a 9-2 lead.

Walton buried a triple to end the 9-0 run and an 8:20 scoring drought, but TAMUK hit a triple at the other end for a 12-5 lead.  The Lady Buffs' tenth turnover of the quarter led to a fast break layup and score for the Javelinas as they lead 14-5 through one quarter.  The five points were the fewest in a quarter by the Lady Buffs this season.  WT was just 2 of 12 from the field in the frame.

A jumper from senior Maddison Wild and a triple from senior Sasha Watson began the second quarter strong for the Lady Buffs cutting the deficit to 14-10 with 8:17 left in the half.  Both teams went into an offensive lull once again, but Walton hit another triple for an 18-13 TAMUK lead with 4:39 remaining in the half.  Junior Cece Wooten scored inside for an 18-15 Javelina lead moments later.  WT heated up to 4 of 8 from the field in the second quarter and TAMUK fell to 2 of 12. 

Watson pulled WT within 18-17 with a jumper in the lane for a 7-2 run with just over three minutes left in the half.  Wooten, following a TAMUK turnover, gave WT its first lead since 2-0 with a jumper at 19-18 with less than two minutes remaining in the half.  Watson pushed the lead to 22-18 with an "and one" as TAMUK hadn't scored in the last 4:02.  Junior Madison Parker hit two free throws for a 25-20 lead with 15.5 seconds left in the half for the largest of the game to that point for the Lady Buffs as WT outscored the Javelinas 20-6 in the second quarter. 

The 25 points by the Lady Buffs in the first half was a season-low, but the Lady Buffs went 7 of 11 from the field in the second quarter for 9 of 23 from the field for the half.  Watson led the way with eight points and three assists.  WT was 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and 4 of 5 from the line, while out-rebounding the Javelinas 23-12. 

Watson was honored with a commemorative basketball prior to the game for becoming the 22^nd player in WT history to score 1,000 career points back on Dec. 8 with a season-high 27 points at Texas Woman's. 

TAMUK went just 3 of 16 from the field in the second quarter and 9 of 29 for the half.  The Javelinas were 2 of 8 from beyond the arc and 0 of 1 from the line.  The teams combined for 23 turnovers in the half with 14 by WT and nine by TAMUK.  Despite the miscues, WT led 6-5 in points off turnovers. 

A technical foul on TAMUK head coach Wade Scott and two free throws from freshman Lexy Hightower and a bucket inside by Watson pushed the WT lead to a game-high 11 at 33-22 with 7:45 left in the third.  Later, Watson scored her 12^th point of the game and a 37-26 lead with 5:33 left.  Following a turnover, Watson secured an offensive rebound and scored for a 39-26 lead – the largest of the game to that point.

Watson hit two free throws for a 47-29 lead and 17 for the game and a 6-0 Lady Buff run with 3:06 left in the quarter.  TAMUK was in the midst of a 3:59 scoring drought and had missed its last five shots.  Tee Moore hit a jumper ending the drought for the Javelinas and a 50-31 score with 1:30 left in the quarter.  WT had a 56-33 lead after three quarters. 

WT continued to build the lead in the fourth quarter while getting redshirt freshman Amanda Bell and sophomore Taylor LaCour into the action leading 69-47 with 1:42 left.  LaCour scored inside for a 71-47 lead late in the contest. 

The Lady Buffs begin a season-long five-game road trip next week at Tarleton State on Thursday evening beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Wisdom Gym, followed by a game at Texas A&M-Commerce a week from today.