CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M's senior duo of Lexy Hightower and Abby Spurgin combined for 48 points as the #15 Lady Buffs outlasted the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, 74-65 on Friday night at the First United Bank Center in Canyon during Lone Star Conference crossover action.
 
Spurgin led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs as the Fredericksburg product went 9-of-17 from the floor including 8-of-10 from the charity stripe for a season-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds, one assist and a block. Hightower finished the night going 9-of-13 from the floor including a perfect 4-of-4 from deep for 22 points with a team-high six assists.
 
The Lady Buffs went 27-of-55 (49.1%) from the floor including 7-of-13 (53.8%) from deep and 13-of-20 (65%) from the free throw line with 32 rebounds (10 offensive, 22 defensive), 15 assists, 12 turnovers, seven steals and a block.
 
TAMUK was led offensively by Brianna Pena who went 9-of-13 from the floor including 3-of-4 from long range for a team-high 21 points to go along with three rebounds and a steal. The Javelinas finished the game going 23-of-49 (46.9%) from the field including 7-of-16 (43.8%) from deep and 12-of-13 (92.3%) from the free throw line with 24 rebounds (five offensive, 14 defensive), six assists, 15 turnovers, three steals and two blocks.
 
KEY MOMENTS

• Spurgin registered the first five points of the game for the Lady Buffs as they took a 10-7 lead to the first media timeout of the afternoon
• Kingsville scored seven straight points after the break on their way to a 12-4 run headed to the second with a 19-14 lead
• The Javelinas continued their hot-shooting to stretch the lead to 25-19 before Hightower connected from behind the arc on back-to-back trips down the floor, moving into sole possession of third place on WT's all-time made three-pointer list
• Hightower went 4-of-6 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from deep in the second period with 11 points as WT took a 38-34 lead to the locker room, the Lady Buffs forced six turnovers in the period while shooting 64.3% (9-of-14) from the floor
• Kingsville started the second half on an 11-0 run highlighted by a pair of long balls before WT responded with an 14-3 run of their own, making it 52-48
• The Lady Buffs turned up the defensive pressure, holding TAMUK scoreless over the final 3:47 of the third while extending their lead to 61-50
• The Javelinas extended their scoring drought to 5:09, missing their first two shots of the fourth quarter before connecting from behind the arc to make it 65-53 with 8:14 left
• WT registered a scoring drought of their own in the heart of the final period before a Hightower layup gave the senior her 22^nd point of the night, extending WT's lead to 71-61 

HALFTIME REPORT
The Lady Buffs took a 38-34 lead into the locker room as they went 15-of-28 (53.6%) from the floor in the first half including 5-of-8 (62.5%) from deep and 3-of-6 (50%) from the free throw line to go along with 11 rebounds (four offensive, seven defensive), 11 assists, four turnovers, three steals and a block. TAMUK went 13-of-22 (59.1%) from the field in the half including 4-of-9 (44.4%) from behind the arc and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe with 10 rebounds (two offensive, eight defensive), five assists, nine turnovers, one steal and no blocks.
 
COMING UP NEXT
The Lady Buffs continue their homestand tomorrow afternoon as they conclude their weekend series with the Javelinas, tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Canyon.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• WT moved to 64-9 all-time against the Javelinas including a 36-4 record in Canyon
• The Lady Buffs are now 235-33 inside of the First United Bank Center, running their home win streak to six games
• Hightower connected four times from behind the arc to pass Holly Isaacs (2006-10 / 209) for third place on WT's all-time made three pointer list, Carlee Massie (2000-04 / 214) sits second
• The Amarillo native has now scored atleast 20 points in six of WT's eight games this season, she has reached the 20-point mark 24 times in her career
• Hightower moved into 10^th place on WT's all-time scoring list, passing Lori DeShields (1993-97 / 1,427). She is just nine points shy of Devin Griffin (2011-14 / 1,450) for ninth
• Spurgin registered a season-high 26 points on Friday night, making it the eighth time in her career that the senior has scored atleast 20 points