CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M showed heart on Saturday afternoon as they trailed by as many as 17 points with less than six minutes remaining before cutting the lead to five late in the game in a 91-78 loss to the #2 Drury Lady Panthers during the second day of the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the First United Bank Center.
 
Zamorye Roberts led the way for the Lady Buffs for the second straight day as the Portales native went 7-of-15 from the floor including 3-of-6 from deep and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe for a season-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, six assists, one block and a steal. Alivia Lewis registered a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds while Karley Motschenbacher (12) and Jillian Sowell (10) both scored in double-figures.
 
The Lady Buffs finished the afternoon going 21-of-60 (35%) from the floor including 4-of-16 (25%) from deep and 32-of-36 (88.9%) from the free throw line with 44 total rebounds (23 offensive, 21 defensive), nine assists, 26 turnovers, five blocks and eight steals.
 
Drury was led by reigning National Player of the Year Paige Robinson who went 6-of-11 from the floor including 2-of-4 from deep and 6-of-8 from the free throw line for a team-high 20 points to go along with six boards, five assists and two steals. The Lady Panthers went 33-of-64 (51.6%) from the field including 6-of-16 (37.5%) from behind the arc and 19-of-27 (70.4%) from the stripe with 34 rebounds, 12 assists, 20 turnovers, two blocks and 11 steals.
 
HALFTIME REPORT
The Lady Buffs trailed by just one point at the half as they went 10-of-26 (38.5%) from the floor including 2-of-7 (28.6%) from deep and 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the free throw line with 23 rebounds (10 offensive, 13 defensive), three assists, 14 turnovers, four blocks and three steals. Drury went 15-of-34 (44.1%) from the field in the first 20 minutes including 3-of-8 (37.5%) from behind the arc and 1-of-6 (16.7%) from the stripe with 16 rebounds, five assists, nine turnovers, one block and five steals.
 
COMING UP NEXT
The Lady Buffs conclude opening weekend with a matchup against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon with tipoff set for 4 p.m. at the FUBC. The Bulldogs picked up an 86-80 win over Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon to move to 1-1 overall.