CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M close out their weekend homestand on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the St. Edward's Hilltoppers to Canyon with tipoff set for 1:00 p.m. at the First United Bank Center.
 
StMU RECAP
The Lady Buffs allowed just 11 points in the first half and held St. Mary's to a 19.7% shooting percentage on Thursday night to pick up WT's 26th consecutive home victories in a 48-34 Lone Star Conference decision over the Rattlers in front of over 1,000 fans on Pain the Floor Pink Night at the First United Bank Center. 
 
The Lady Buffs used a balanced scoring attack on Thursday night as Kyla Kane and Azia Himeur finished the 11 points each followed by Lauren Taylor with 10. Taylor finished the game with her second career double-double as the senior from Collierville, Tennessee went 4-of-14 from the floor including 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to go along with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
A LOOK AT THE HILLTOPPERS
The Hilltoppers enter the weekend with an overall record of 13-14 with a 9-10 mark in Lone Star Conference play following a 55-29 loss to the Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps on Thursday night at the Rip Griffin Center. SEU is 4-5 so far this season away from Austin.
 
Jayda Ruffus-Milner leads the way offensively for the Hilltoppers as the senior forward from North Hills, California has gone 106-of-193 (54.9%) from the field including 0-of-3 (0%) from behind the arc and 90-of-141 (63.8%) from the free throw line to average 11.2 points per game to go along with 114 total rebounds (51 offensive, 63 defensive), 39 assists, 49 steals and 15 blocks.
 
St. Edward's finished the 2021-22 campaign with an overall mark of 12-16 with a 5-12 mark in LSC play to miss out on the LSC Championships at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
 
SEU HEAD COACH J.J. RIEHL
J.J. Riehl is now in her 11th season at the helm of the St. Edward's women's basketball program as she holds an overall record of 155-144 during her time in Austin with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. She took over the program in 2012 following a decade as the top assistant, helping the Toppers to the 2005-06 Heartland Conference Title. Riehl played her college career at SEU, earning two all-conference honors during her time on the hilltop.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon marks the 12th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Hilltoppers as WT holds the 10-1 all-time advantage with the Lady Buffs claiming the last four meetings in a series that dates back to 1998. St. Edward's is 0-6 all-time in Canyon with their last trip coming in 2021.
 
WBCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Ashland picked up all 23 first place votes for a total of 575 points to remain atop of the poll followed by Drury (550), Tampa (503), Texas Woman's (497), Glenville State (475), Grand Valley State (465), Eckerd (427), Western Washington (400), Cal State Dominguez Hills (391) and Nebraska Kearney (370) to round out the top ten. The South Central Region was represented by Texas Woman's (4th), Colorado School of Mines (18th) 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.
 
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 271-37 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 87.7%. WT has averaged 1,025 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.
 
LONGEST ACTIVE DIVISION II HOME WIN STREAKS
32 - Glenville State (MEC)
26 - West Texas A&M (LSC)
18 - Nebraska-Kearney (MIAA)
15 - Michigan Tech (GLIAC), Kentucky Wesleyan (G-MAC)
14 - Catawba (SAC), Trevecca Nazarene (G-MAC)
 
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 the opposite division for a total of 22 LSC games.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of 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. 2022-23 has already started off on a high-note as WT Volleyball claimed the program's fourth National Title in early December.
 
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.