CANYON, Texas – The #22 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M shot over 69% from the floor in the second half as they picked up a Lone Star Conference divisional victory over the UT Permian Basin Falcons at the First United Bank Center on Saturday afternoon, 83-64.
 
Lexy Hightower led the way for the Lady Buffs as the senior went 9-of-15 from the floor including 3-of-7 from behind the arc for a game-high 22 points to go along with five assists and a steal. Abby Spurgin finished the game with 16 points and six rebounds while McKauley Gregory set a new career-high with 12 points.
 
The Lady Buffs went 30-of-49 (61.2%) from the field including 7-of-14 (50%) from behind the arc and 16-of-20 (80%) from the free throw line with 27 rebounds (six offensive, 21 defensive), 18 assists, 16 turnovers, 10 steals and one block.
 
UTPB was led offensively by Jada Berry who went 4-of-7 from the floor including 4-of-7 from deep for a team-high 12 points to go along with a steal. The Falcons finished the game going 27-of-56 (48.2%) from the floor including 8-of-21 (38.15) from behind the arc and 2-of-4 (50%) from the free throw line to go along with 22 rebounds (eight offensive, 14 defensive), 16 assists, 20 turnovers, six steals and a block.
 
KEY MOMENTS

• The Lady Buffs started the game on a quick 9-2 run as a Lauren Taylor long ball from the top of the key forced a Falcon timeout with 6:43 left in the first
• UTPB responded with a 9-4 run of their own to cut the lead to 13-11
• The Falcons connected on a long ball with just under a minute remaining in the first to take their first lead of the game at 18-17
• UT Permian Basin continued their hot shooting from deep as they took a 24-20 lead into a WT timeout with 7:38 left in the half
• The Lady Buffs found their groove offensively, going on a 16-2 run as McKauley Gregory registered fix straight points to extend the WT lead to 36-26 with 3:00 on the clock
• WT connected on their first four shots of the second half highlighted by a pair from Abby Spurgin
• Hightower and Spurgin combined for 15 points in the third quarter as the Lady Buffs shot 81.8% (9-of-11) in the period, taking a 65-47 lead to the fourth
• UTPB started the fourth on a 7-0 run to cut the Lady Buff lead to 67-54 headed into a timeout with 6:57 left
• Hightower hit a long ball from the top of the key with 5:41 on the clock to tie Holly Isaacs for fourth on WT's all-time made three-pointer list with 209

HALFTIME REPORT
The Lady Buffs took a 40-32 lead into the locker room as they went 14-of-26 (53.8%) from the floor including 3-of-7 (42.9%) from deep and 9-of-10 (90%) from the free throw line with 15 rebounds (three offensive, 12 defensive), nine assists, nine turnovers, six steals and one block. UTPB finished the half going 14-of-28 (50%) from the field including 4-of-8 (50%) from behind the arc and 0-of-2 from the free throw line with 11 rebounds (three offensive, eight defensive), seven assists, 11 turnovers, three steals and a block.
 
COMING UP NEXT
The Lady Buffs continue their homestand next weekend as the host the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas in LSC crossover action at the First United Bank Center starting on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Canyon.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• WT moved to 12-1 all-time against the Falcons including a 7-1 record in Canyon
• Hightower connected three times from behind the arc to tie Holly Isaacs (2006-10 / 209) for third place in WT history for made three-pointers with 209
• The Amarillo native has now scored atleast 20 points in five of WT's seven games this season, she has reached the 20-point mark 23 times in her career
• Gregory set a new career-high with 12 points on the afternoon as the Lubbock Cooper product went 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from behind the arc
• The Lady Buffs forced atleast 20 turnovers for the third consecutive game