ODESSA, Texas –  A team-high 19 points from senior Sasha Watson paced three West Texas A&M Lady Buffs in double figures as they downed UT Permian Basin 69-55 in the Falcon Dome Tuesday evening.  With the win, WT improved to 16-6 and 9-4 in Lone Star Conference play, while UTPB fell to 7-13 and 3-10 in league play. 

WT used a 19-3 start and a 37-14 lead at halftime, but had to battle in the second half as the Falcons made a run and outscored WT 41-35 in the second half.  The Lady Buffs shot 58.5 percent from the field on 24 of 41 and were just two of eight from beyond the arc, while going 19 of 26 from the line.  WT held a 26-21 lead in rebounding and tallied 13 assists, 15 turnovers, two blocks and nine steals.

Watson surpassed former Lady Buff Pat McDonald (1990-92) for 14^th all-time in scoring as she has 1,183 points and needs 64 points to move into 13^th as Courtney Lee (2005-09) has 1,246 points.  Watson was seven of seven in the game from the field and five of eight from the line with two rebounds, five assists and a game-high four steals.  Senior Maddison Wild added 14 points on five of nine from the field and four of six from the line, while junior Cece Wooten put together another strong outing with ten points. 

UTPB went 18 of 48 from the field for 37.5 percent and was seven of 24 from beyond the arc, while going 12 of 16 from the line.  Niva Taito had a game-high 22 points on seven of 17 with three triples and five free throws.  Briana Caro added 12 points – all on triples. 

The Lady Buffs came out firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to a 13-1 lead through the first 6:30 of the first quarter.  WT held UTPB to zero of its first eight as WT started six of ten.  The Falcons also missed their first six triples.  UTPB entered the game leading the LSC in triples made. 

UTPB got its first field goal with 1:34 left in the quarter as Nakedra Burke scored inside for a 17-3 WT lead.  Reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week, junior Madison Parker, picked up her fifth rebound and Watson scored for her sixth point of the game and a 19-3 lead through the first quarter.  The three points allowed was a season-low in a quarter for the Lady Buffs this season.

Taito hit the first triple for the Falcons in the second quarter, but senior Alie Decker answered at the other end and a steal and bucket from freshman Lexy Hightower made UTPB burn its third timeout as WT held a 27-6 lead with 6:38 left in the half.  

The Lady Buffs continued to turn on the pressure as Watson scored inside for her 11^th point of the half and senior Bailey Thiel tallied her second steal with 32 seconds left in the half as WT held a 35-14 lead.  Out of a timeout by the Lady Buffs, a missed shot by the Lady Buffs followed, but sophomore Taylor LaCour was there to clean up the mess for a 37-14 lead at intermission. 

For the half, WT shot a blistering 59.3 percent on 16 of 27 from the field and was two of six from beyond the arc, while going three for four from the line.  WT held a 17-11 lead in rebounding and had seven assists with seven turnovers, one block and seven steals.  Watson led the way with 11 points on a perfect five of five from the field.  Parker added six rebounds.

UTPB was just five of 23 from the field for 21.7 percent, while going just two of 11 from range and two of four from the line.  WT forced ten turnovers, leading to a 12-2 lead in points off turnovers, for the half. Burke had five points to pace the Falcons off the bench.

WT opened the second half just as it did in the first, scoring the first six points of the half for a 43-14 lead.  Wooten, who started for senior Lilley Vander Zee, picked up her third foul with 7:20 left in the third as Heather Crittenden made one of two free throws for the Falcons to get them on the board in the second half.  Vander Zee didn't make the trip as she was ill.  Crittenden had a game-high 18 points in the game in Canyon, but had just two points on two of four from the line to this point in this game.

UTPB responded with a 7-0 run of its own pulling within 45-21 with 5:12 left in the third.  Jackie Perez scored inside for a 9-0 run and a 45-23 lead as the Falcons began to turn up the pressure.  Taito extended the run to 11-0, but senior Maddison Wild was hacked at the other end, ending the run with two tosses.  WT had not made a field goal since the 7:41 mark in the quarter.

Back-to-back triples from Taito cut the deficit to 47-30 with 3:12 left in the quarter and a timeout by WT and a 16-4 run since the 7:20 mark.  Out of the timeout, Wooten scored inside for a 49-30 lead and closed the quarter on a 7-2 run for a 54-32 lead through three frames. 

UTPB heated up in the third as it was seven of 11 from the field with two triples, while WT stayed consistent at six of eight from the field. 

Taito again hit back-to-back triples pulling the Falcons within 58-40 with six minutes remaining as it was her third triple of the game and 16^th point to lead the team.  Hightower hit two free throws, but Briana Caro buried a triple and a shot clock violation on the Lady Buffs followed.  With Taito's triples, UTPB was on an 11-3 run. 

Out of a timeout by the Lady Buff with 4:22 left, WT turned it over for the 14^th time and seventh of the half with 3:45 remaining.  A foul on WT gave UTPB a pair of tosses as Taito hit both, for a 61-47 lead and a 13-3 run.

Two free throws from Parker pushed the lead to 63-47 and the final finished at 69-55 for the third-straight win for the Lady Buffs. 

WT finished the road trip 3-2 and the month of January 6-2.  The Lady Buffs return home after five games on the road to face Texas Woman's on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the First United Bank Center.  It will be the first home game for the Lady Buffs since Jan. 14.