West Texas A&M (1-1) vs. #21 Colorado Mesa (0-0)
Date & Time	Friday, November 8th at 2:30 p.m.
Location	Odessa, Texas | Falcon Dome (South Central Regional Challenge)
Live Statistics	Sidearm
Live Video (Pay Per View)	FloCollege
Other Links	Game Notes

CANYON. Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Odessa, Texas to take part in the South Central Regional Challenge at the Falcon Dome. WT battles #21 Colorado Mesa on Friday afternoon with tipoff set for 2:30 p.m. on the campus of UT Permian Basin.
 
HARDING RECAP
The Lady Buffs picked up their first win of the young season on Sunday afternoon as a big fourth quarter lifted West Texas A&M to a 89-81 victory during the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. Kyla Kane impressed for the Lady Buffs as the Wellington product went 9-of-15 from the floor including 3-of-5 from deep for a team-high 24 points to go along with two rebounds and an assist. Randi Harding added 15 points for WT as the junior guard went 6-of-10 from the field followed by freshman Taytum Bell with 11 points.
 
A LOOK AT THE MAVERICKS
Colorado Mesa, the preseason favorite in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, has high expectations entering the 2024-25 campaign as the Mavericks made the sixth-largest year-to-year improvement in Division II last season, winning 13 games in 2023-24 before registering 25 victories a year ago.
 
The Mavericks return four starters from last season's team as RMAC Player of the Year Olivia Reed averaged 17.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game last season. Colorado Mesa also returns the reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year Mason Rowland who averaged 14.6 points per game off the bench last season. A pair of transfers add to CMU's depth: guard Riley Hayes from Arkansas-Forth Smith and forward Brooklyn Palmer from UT Tyler.
 
The Mavericks registered an overall record of 25-7 last season with an 18-4 mark in RMAC action to share the league title with UC-Colorado Spring. CMU picked up a 68-61 victory over Lubbock Christian during the South Central Regional Quarterfinals in Denton before ending their season against the UT Tyler Patriots, 68-56 in the Regional Semifinals.
 
CMU HEAD COACH TAYLOR WAGNER
Taylor Wagner is now in his 13th season at the helm of the Colorado Mesa women's basketball program. He holds an overall mark of 266-84 during his time in Grand Junction as he has led the Mavericks to seven NCAA Tournament Trips (2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023) and four RMAC Tournament Titles (2013, 2014, 2019, 2020).
 
Wagner was named the 11th head women's basketball coach at Colorado Mesa University before the 2012-2013 season. He came to Grand Junction following eight seasons at Otero Junior College, posting an overall record of 187-63 with three trips to the Region IX Title Game including a Regional Title in 2012. Wagner registered a standout playing career at Otero Junior College and Alaska-Anchorage where he was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year for the Seawolves.
 
THE SERIES
Friday marks the 10th all-time meeting between West Texas A&M and Colorado Mesa on the hardwood, WT is 7-2 in the series that dates back to 1994. The Lady Buffs are 2-0 against the Mavericks on a neutral court with the pair of neutral site meetings coming in 2015 and 2022.
 
The last meeting between the two took place on November 10, 2023 in Grand Junction as the Mavericks ended the first half on an 11-0 run and never looked back on their way to a 70-51 victory at Brownson Arena. Nyalam Thabach led the way for the Lady Buffs with 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Grace Alvarez chipped in nine points followed by Kyla Kane with seven.
 
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 280-44 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 weekend's South Central Regional Challenge will be broadcasted on FloSports. 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
1929 - Two-time National Champion head football coach Bobby Bowden is born in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
1966 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signs an anti-trust immunity to the merger between the American Football League and the National Football League.
 
1966 - Baltimore Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson selected as the American League Most Valuable Player, becoming the first player to win the MVP in both leagues.