CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M moved to 58-17 all-time in the Lone Star Conference Championship on Tuesday night as Braylyn Dollar and Lexy Hightower combined for 45 points to send the #22 Lady Buffs to the semifinal round with a 59-46 victory over the South Division Champion Dustdevils of Texas A&M International at the First United Bank Center in Canyon.
 
Hightower led the way offensively as the senior went 11-of-21 from the floor including 2-of-6 from deep and 4-of-4 from the free throw line for a game-high 28 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals. Dollar went 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line for a season-high 17 points as the junior grabbed 10 rebounds with one assist, three blocks and three steals for the double-double. 
 
The Lady Buffs finished the night going 23-of-52 (44.2%) from the field including 3-of-15 (20%) from deep and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line to go along with 30 total rebounds (seven offensive, 23 defensive), nine assists, 13 turnovers, six blocks and 12 steals in the win.
 
TAMIU was led by Ally Winnen who went 5-of-15 from the field including 4-of-7 from the charity stripe for a team-high 14 points to go along with three rebounds followed by Nicole Heyn with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for a double-double. The Dustdevils went 15-of-47 (31.9%) from the field including 5-of-15 (33.3%) from behind the arc and 11-of-16 (68.8%) from the free throw line with 33 rebounds (11 offensive, 22 defensive), nine assists, 20 turnovers, one block and five steals.
 
HALFTIME REPORT
The Lady Buffs led 26-21 headed into the locker room as they went 11-of-23 (47.8%) from the floor including 1-of-6 (16.7%) from deep and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe with 10 total rebounds (two offensive, eight defensive), four assists, nine turnovers, three blocks and eight steals. TAMIU went 8-of-20 (40%) from the field including 1-of-7 (14.3%) from behind the arc and 4-of-5 (80%) from the free throw line with 14 rebounds (four offensive, 10 defensive), four assists, 13 turnovers, one block and four steals.
 
COMING UP NEXT
The Lady Buffs advance to Friday's semifinal round as they will take on the second-seeded and 10^th ranked Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce with tipoff scheduled for 6:45 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian. TAMUC defeated Oklahoma Christian, 77-63 on Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round in Commerce.
 
2021 Lone Star Conference Women's Basketball Championship
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 (on-campus)
Game 1: (8) St. Mary's at (1) Lubbock Christian (LCU 76-52)
Game 2: (7) Oklahoma Christian at (2) Texas A&M-Commerce (TAMUC, 77-63)
Game 3: (6) Texas A&M International at (3) West Texas A&M (WT 59-46)
Game 4: (5) Midwestern State at (4) Cameron (CU 87-76)
 
Friday, March 5, 2021 (Lubbock, Texas)
Game 5: 4:00 p.m. – (1) Lubbock Christian vs. (4) Cameron
Game 6: 6:45 p.m. – (2) Texas A&M-Commerce vs. (3) West Texas A&M
 
Saturday, March 6, 2021 (Lubbock, Texas)
Game 7: 3:00 p.m. - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6