CANYON, Texas – The #2 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M finish up their South Texas road trip on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Dustdevils of Texas A&M International with tipoff set for 1 p.m. at the KCB in Laredo, Texas.
 
TAMUK RECAP
The #2 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M battled back from a 17-point deficit late in the third quarter to cut the lead to five but big buckets down the stretch lifted the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville to a 71-60 Lone Star Conference victory on Thursday night at the Steinke Center.
 
Nyalam Thabach led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs as the junior from Boise, Idaho went 5-of-11 from the floor including 1-of-4 from deep and 6-of-8 from the free throw line for a team-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and two assists. Lauren Taylor and Hollie Stalder both finished in double-figures with 10 points each.
 
A LOOK AT THE DUSTDEVILS
Texas A&M International enters Saturday with an overall record of 5-3 with a 1-2 mark in LSC action following a big 60-47 victory over Lubbock Christian on Thursday night at the KCB in Laredo. TAMIU connected 17 times from the charity stripe for just their second every win over the Lady Chaps.
 
Rai Brown leads the way offensively for the Dustdevils as the junior from Wheatley Heights, New York has gone 62-of-104 (59.6%) from the field including 30-of-43 (69.8%) from the free throw line to average 19.3 points per game to go along with 46 rebounds (16 offensive, 30 defensive), 11 assists, four blocks and 13 steals. 
 
The Dustdevils finished the 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 18-11 including an 8-8 mark in Lone Star Conference action as they advanced to the second round of the LSC Championships in Frisco. TAMIU picked up a 66-64 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville before falling to the Lady Buffs, 75-56 in the LSC Quarterfinals at the Comerica Center.
 
TAMIU HEAD COACH NATE VOGEL
Nate Vogel is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Texas A&M International women's basketball program after being named the fifth head coach in program history in April of 2019. He holds an overall record of 45-36 during his time in Laredo, leading the Dustdevils to a pair of LSC Tournament appearances. Vogel came to Laredo following two seasons as the head coach at Miles Community College.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon marks the seventh all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Dustdevils, WT is a perfect 6-0 all-time in the series that dates back to 2016. The Lady Buffs are 1-0 during their only trip to the KCB back on January 25, 2020 (74-54).
 
WBCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Grand Valley State picked up 21 of the possible 23 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 572 points followed by WT (two first place, 536), Ashland (532), Missouri Southern (465), Union (447), Minnesota State Mankato (419), Drury (403), Glenville State (382), Eckerd (366) and Tampa (350) to round out the top ten. The South Central Region was represented by WT (2nd), Colorado School of Mines (258), Texas Woman's (25) and Angelo State (RV).
 
WT HEAD COACH JOSH PROCK
Josh Prock enters his second season at the helm of the Lady Buff Basketball program after guiding WT to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight during his first season in Maroon & White, finishing the campaign with an overall record of 26-11 as WT claimed the LSC Regular Season and Tournament Titles followed by a run to the South Central Regional Championship.
 
Prock was introduced as West Texas A&M's head women's basketball coach on June, 2, 2021. Prock is no stranger to the Lone Star Conference as he spent eight seasons as the head coach at Eastern New Mexico leading the Greyhounds to their only three NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
West Texas A&M is home to one of the finest multi-purpose facilities in the country as the First United Bank Center has served as the home of the Lady Buffs since January 26, 2002. The Lady Buffs are a staggering 265-37 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 87.7%. WT has averaged 1,028 fans per contest since the facility opened its doors with the largest crowd coming on Opening Night with 4,941 members of Buff Nation seeing the Lady Buffs take on rival Abilene Christian.
 
LSC BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Buffs picked up 31 of the possible 39 first place votes for a total of 612 points to sit atop of the poll followed by Lubbock Christian (four first place, 557), Texas Woman's (four first place, 538), Angelo State (519), UT Tyler (479), Texas A&M-Kingsville (408), Texas A&M International (371), Cameron (347), Midwestern State (314), Eastern New Mexico (233), St. Edward's (219), UAFS (216), UT Permian Basin (172), Oklahoma Christian (154), St. Mary's (94) and Western New Mexico (71).
 
The 2022-23 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 women's teams in two divisions. Each team will play a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games. The divisional winners will receive the top two seeds in the tournament. The championships are set to take place March 2-3-4-5, 2023, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
 
The 2021-22 campaign saw WT claimed six Lone Star Conference Championships, three LSC Tournament crowns, two Regional Championships and four Top-5 track and field finishes including the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Women's National Championship.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The contest will be broadcasted on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. For more information, visit the Women's Basketball Schedule page at GoBuffsGo.com.