CANYON, Texas – A career-high 23 points from West Texas A&M senior post Maddison Wild led three Lady Buffs in double figures in an 80-55 victory over visiting Texas Woman's Saturday afternoon at the First United Bank Center.  With the win, WT improved to 17-6 overall and 10-4 in Lone Star Conference play, while TWU fell to 14-8 and 7-7 in league play.

Wild went nine of 14 from the field with two triples and three free throws, along with a team-high seven rebounds.  Freshman Lexy Hightower added 18 points on six of nine from the field, with a triple and five of six from the line.  Junior Madison Parker, the reigning LSC Defensive player of the Week, added 11 points and five rebounds off the bench in another solid outing. 

In a slow starting first quarter, Wild scored the first bucket of the game at the 8:04 mark as both teams had multiple turnovers in the early going.  Morgan Easley tied the game at two with a pair of freebies with 6:55 remaining in the quarter.  WT regained the lead as it never trailed and there were only two ties early in the contest.  A 4-0 run by the Lady Buffs for an 11-7 lead in the first quarter on a pair of buckets from Hightower and parker.  Moments later, senior Alie Decker buried a triple for a 14-9 lead as WT led 17-9 through one quarter.

The Lady Buffs added to their lead in the second as the team shot the same in the first quarter from the field and in the second quarter.  WT was seven of 12 from the field in each quarter.  Wild connected on back-to-back triples for a 25-14 lead with 7:11 left in the half.  Parker buried a trey pushing the lead to 15 after Decker drew the defense away from the Amarillo native for the open look. 

Later in the half, senior Sasha Watson, who had eight points and eight assists, along with four steals knifed through the lane for an easy bucket and a 34-19 lead. 

For the half, the Lady Buffs shot 58.3 percent from the field and were five of eight from beyond the arc, while holding the Pioneers to 34.8 percent from the field on eight of 23.  TWU missed on its only triple attempt in the half.  The swarming Lady Buff "D" forced nine TWU miscues in the half, while Wild led the way with 11 points on four of seven from the field and two triples.

WT continued to pour the pressure on the Pioneers in the second half and the swarming defense held TWU and LSC leading scorer Kenesha Saygo to no points in the first half and nine for the game. Saygo entered averaging 18.4 points per game. 

The Lady Buffs stretched the lead to as many as 25 in the second half and settled for the 80-55 victory.  WT outscored TWU 47-36 in the second half as the Lady Buffs shot 58.8 percent for the game on 30 of 51 and was six of 14 from range, while going 14 of 18 from the line after attempting just one charity toss in the first half.

WT held a 32-23 lead in rebounding and forced TWU into 17 turnovers leading to a 19-12 lead in points off turnovers, while the Lady Buffs dominated the paint, outscoring TWU 44-26 inside. 

For the game, TWU shot 40.4 percent from the field on 19 of 47.  The Pioneers were just one of seven from beyond the arc and 16 of 22 from the line.  Grace Mitchell had a team-high 12 points off the bench, while Emily Spector added ten points and five rebounds. 

The Lady Buffs continue their three-game home stand next week with a pair of games Thursday and Saturday against Cameron and Midwestern State at the First United Bank Center.