West Texas A&M (4-2) vs. Adams State (4-3)
Date & Time	Friday, November 29th at 3:00 p.m.
Location	Canyon, Texas | First United Bank Center (Lady Buff Thanksgiving Classic)
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Live Video (Pay Per View)	FloCollege
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON. Texas – West Texas A&M returns to the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center on Friday afternoon as they host the Lady Buff Thanksgiving Classic in Canyon, WT will take on regional foe Adam State on Friday afternoon with tipoff set for 3:00 p.m.
 
ENMU RECAP
The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M couldn't find a rhythm offensively on Saturday afternoon as they fell to the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, 74-57 in the Lone Star Conference opener at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena in Portales. Claire Graham led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs as the junior from Tuscola went 6-of-12 from the floor including 3-of-4 from behind the arc for a team-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Taylor Haggan chipped in 13 points followed by Randi Harding with 12
 
A LOOK AT THE GRIZZLIES
Adams State enters the holiday weekend with an overall record of 4-3 as Coach Caetano has put together one of the toughest schedules in Division II women's basketball to start the season. ASU has battled a pair of teams that qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament (Harding, Fort Hays State) as their seven opponents so far this season are a combined 22-14 (.611).
 
The Grizzlies, picked fourth in the preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference poll, shared the RMAC regular season title in 2023-24. Adams State went 25-9 last season with a 18-4 mark in league action, advancing to the semifinal round of the NCAA South Central Regional Championship in Denton before falling to eventual National Runner-Up Texas Woman's, 74-63.
 
Kiiyani Anitielu leads the way offensively for the Grizzlies as the junior guard from Farmington, New Mexico has gone 31-of-83 (37.3%) from the floor including 29-of-36 (80.6%) from the free throw line to average 13.9 points per game to go along with 16 rebounds, nine assists, four blocks and 18 steals. The Grizzlies added a pair of veteran players from the transfer portal in the offseason in Brooke Rodgers (Western New Mexico) and Mykaila Pickard (Northwestern State).
 
ADAMS STATE HEAD COACH MARIO CAETANO
The 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year Mario Caetano is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Grizzlies. He holds an overall record of 50-21 during his time in Alamosa with five All-RMAC performers and one All-Region selection.
 
Caetano led the Grizzlies to the RMAC Tournament Semifinals in 2022-23 after the Grizzlies finished 21-9 overall, tied for the third most wins in program history, tied for second in the NCAA Division II (1992-Present) Era. Caetano came to Alamosa after serving an eight-year stint at Northern New Mexico College. During his time at NMMC, Caetano served as the Men's Associate Head Coach for the Eagles before taking over in December 2018 as the Head Coach for the women's team.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon marks the eighth all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Grizzlies in a series that dates back to 2004. The Lady Buffs are 6-1 against Adams State with Friday marking the third meeting in Canyon. 
 
The last meeting saw the Grizzlies pick up a 77-64 in the 2023 season opener during the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock. Grace Alvarez led the way for the Lady Buffs, going 6-of-13 from the floor including 2-of-8 from deep for a team-high 15 points to go along with four boards and four assists. 
 
WT HEAD COACH JOSH PROCK
Josh Prock is now in his fourth season at the helm of the Lady Buff Basketball program. The Lady Buffs made the program's 28th appearance in the NCAA Division II Postseason during the 2022-23 campaign as they went 21-11 overall including a 14-8 mark in Lone Star Conference action. 
 
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 281-44 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 86.6%. WT has averaged 1,035 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.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The contest will be broadcasted on FloCollege. The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II. The Buffs and Lady Buffs finished third in the 2023-24 Division II LEARFIELD Director's Cup standings. It marked the sixth straight and eighth overall time that WT finished inside of the Top-10 including the fifth straight inside of the Top-5.
 
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1927 - Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully is born in The Bronx, New York
 
1934 - The Chicago Bears defeat the Detroit Lions, 19-16 in the first NFL game broadcasted nationally
 
1957 - New York Mayor Robert Wagner forms a committee to replace the Dodgers & Giants
 
1962 - Major League Baseball decides to revert to one All-Star game per year, after 4 seasons in which two All-Star games were played
 
1969 - Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, winner of five World Series titles is born in Panama City, Panama
 
1976 - The New York Yankees sign free agent Reggie Jackson to a five-year contract