CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M women's basketball team outscored visiting Midwestern State 26-2 in the third quarter for an 85-54 victory Saturday afternoon at the First United Bank Center.  WT won its sixth-straight game improving to 19-6 overall and 12-4 in Lone Star Conference play, while Midwestern State fell to 7-15 and 4-12 in league play. 

Lady Buff senior Alie Decker tallied a WT-best six triples on six of 11 from the field and six of 10 from range, for 20 points to pace four players in double figures.  Seniors Maddison Wild and Lilley Vander Zee each had 14 points and junior Madison Parker added ten points off the bench. 

MSU's Jennifer Arbuckle paced the Mustangs with 14 points on five of eight from the field and four of four from the line for the lone MSU player in double figures.  After shooting 13 of 24 from the field in the first half, WT's "D" stymied the Mustangs for much of the second half, as MSU was just one of ten from the field in the third and seven of 12 in the fourth for a 21 of 46 performance for the game for 45.7 percent.  MSU was four of 12 from beyond the arc and eight of 12 from the line.

The Lady Buffs return to the road at Texas A&M-Kingsville and at Angelo State next week with four regular season games remaining in the season.  Following Saturday's action, WT now sits tied for second with Angelo State at 12-4 in league play as ASU and Texas A&M-Commerce both lost Saturday.

In the Highway 287 Challenge Series, WT took an 8-6 lead in the annual event over Midwestern State with a sweep of the Mustangs in both men's and women's basketball Saturday.

WT continued where it left off offensively from Thursday as the Lady Buffs opened the game making eight of their first nine shots and 10 of the first 12 capped by an offensive rebound and put back from junior Cece Wooten and a timeout by MSU with 1:43 left in the first quarter.  WT used a 9-0 run for the 23-13 lead. 

For the quarter, WT opened 11 of 15 from the field for a 28-16 lead with two triples and four of five from the line.  MSU opened just as impressive as WT, on seven of ten from the field with two triples for the Mustangs.    

WT swelled the lead to as many as 13 early in the second quarter as the fouls for both teams started to mount up.  MSU had not made a field goal in the last 3:51 to the 4:25 mark of the second half.  Both teams cooled off in the second quarter.  Jasmine Richardson ended the drought of over four minutes for the Mustangs with a driving layup pulling MSU within 37-28 with just over three minutes left. 

Two free throws from Jennifer Arbuckle cut the WT lead to 39-32, but senior Lilley Vander Zee imposed her will down low for two, and a 41-32 lead with under a minute left in the half.  A bucket down low from Vander Zee ended the scoring in the paint for a 43-34 lead at intermission.

WT was 17 of 29 from the field for the half for 58.6 percent, while burying four triples and going five of seven from the line.  Seniors Alie Decker and Maddison Wild each had a team-high eight points.  WT led an 18-9 lead in rebounding, including 7-2 on the offensive end and 8-2 in second chance scoring.  The Lady Buffs forced seven MSU miscues and held a 14-6 lead in points off turnovers.

MSU shot 54.2 percent for the half on 13 of 24 and was three of six from beyond the arc, while going five of eight from the line.  Arbuckle paced the Mustangs with eight points. 

Two turnovers by the Mustangs turned into two quick buckets inside by the Lady Buffs early in the third quarter for a 47-34 WT lead and a timeout by Midwestern State with 8:43 left in the quarter.  Out of the timeout, WT scored inside pushing the lead to 51-34.

Through the first media timeout of the second half, WT outscored MSU 14-2 opening the half, six of eight from the field with a triple and forced four MSU miscues with 4:46 left in the quarter.  The six triple, a new WT high, by Decker gave WT its largest lead at 67-36 with 1:18 left in the frame and a 16-0 run over to that point and 18-0 for the final 6:22.

A bucket from Arbuckle ended a 21-0 run early in the fourth and a scoring drought by the Mustangs of over seven minutes.  It was Arbuckle's team-high 12^th point of the game.   

The Lady Buffs shot 71.4 percent in the third quarter on 10 of 14 from the field and four of seven from beyond the arc to blow the game wide open.  The 26-2 margin in the quarter marked the fewest points WT allowed in the third quarter or any quarter this season.

The Lady Buffs went on for their sixth-straight win and the season sweep of Midwestern State, 85-54.  WT improved to 47-14 all-time against MSU and now has won its seventh-straight in the series, improving to 25-4 all-time in Canyon.