CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M make their 28th appearances in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball postseason beginning on Friday evening as they take on the top-seed and host Belles of Angelo State with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. at the Junell Center during the quarterfinal round in San Angelo, Texas.
 
UTT RECAP
The Lady Buffs couldn't overcome 19 turnovers and streaky shooting as the third-seeded UT Tyler Patriots led wire-to-wire in a 75-54 victory during the LSC Quarterfinals at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
 
Lauren Taylor led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs as the senior guard from Collierville, Tennessee went 7-o-17 from the floor including 4-of-10 from behind the arc for a team-high 18 points to go along with one rebound, one assists and a steal. Freshman Hollie Stalder chipped in 11 points and two boards while Nyalam Thabach led the way defensively with 11 rebounds to go along with five points and two blocks.
 
A LOOK AT THE BELLES
The Belles enter the weekend with an overall record of 25-6 following a run to the Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship last weekend in Frisco with victories over Cameron (70-62), UT Tyler (62-53) and Texas Woman's (63-62) to claim their sixth LSC Tournament crown.
 
First Team All-LSC selection Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant leads the way offensively for the Belles as the junior from Amarillo has gone 195-of-445 (43.8%) from the floor including 38-of-109 (34.9%) from deep and 68-of-96 (70.8%) from the free throw line to average 16.0 points per game to go along with 203 rebounds (70 offensive, 203 defensive), 49 assists, 54 steals and 33 blocks.
 
ASU finished the 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 15-13 with a 12-4 mark in league action as they fell to Lubbock Christian in the quarterfinal round of the LSC Championships, 60-51 at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
 
ASU HEAD COACH ALESHA ELLIS
Alesha Ellis is now in her second season at the helm of the Angelo State women's basketball program after spending eight seasons at Wayland Baptist where she led the Flying Queens to an overall mark of 189-52 with eight NAIA Tournament appearances. Ellis was a standout prep-player at nearby Plainview High School where she claimed three 3A State Championships with the Bulldogs followed by a collegiate career at Texas Tech.
 
THE SERIES
Friday evening marks the 81st all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Belles as WT holds a 59-21 advantage in the series that dates back to 1987. The two teams split their pair of meetings this season with the home team picking up a victory in both games. 
 
The Lady Buffs are 51-12 all-time at the Junell Center. Friday marks the third meeting between WT and ASU in the NCAA Postseason, the Lady Buffs topped the Belles (86-64) in the 2017 Regional Finals in Pueblo before ASU extracted revenge in Canyon in 2019 in an overtime thriller in the Regional Semifinals (73-70).
 
WBCA DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
Ashland picked up all 22 first place votes for a total of 550 points to remain atop of the poll followed by Drury (527), Tampa (486), Glenville State (477), Grand Valley State (466), Minnesota Duluth (431), Western Washington (399), Cal State Dominguez Hills (361), Union (357) and Nebraska-Kearney (291) to round out the top ten. The South Central Region was represented by Texas Woman's (19th), Angelo State (24th), Colorado School of Mines (25th) and Regis (RV).
 
WT HEAD COACH JOSH PROCK
Head coach Josh Prock has guided the Lady Buffs to an overall mark of 47-21 during his two seasons in Canyon with a run to last year's South Central Regional Title and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. WT enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 21-10 as they finish LSC play with a mark of 14-8. Prock was introduced as West Texas A&M's head women's basketball coach on June, 2, 2021.
 
LADY BUFFS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Lady Buffs are making their 28th overall appearance in the DII Basketball Postseason as they are 41-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with the 41 wins ranking fifth all-time in NCAA Division II and ranks fourth among active DII schools. 
 
WT has claimed eight Regional Championships with two appearances in the National Finals since the 1986-87 campaign. In the last seven NCAA tournament appearances for WT, the Lady Buffs are 19-7 during the stretch with four South Central Regional Championships and an appearance in the 2014 Division II National Title Game.
 
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.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for this weekend's NCAA Division II Women's Basketball South Central Regional Championship at the Junell Center in San Angelo are now on sale to the general public, fans wishing to purchase can contact the ASU Ticket Office or purchase online.
 
Fans can purchase tickets online or at the Junell Center on gameday. The ASU Ticket Office will open one-hour before game time for ticket sales. There will be both single-game ticket sales, as well as tournament pass sales. Angelo State implements a Clear Bag Policy for events inside of the Junell Center.
 
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.