#13 West Texas A&M vs. (RV) Adams State / New Mexico Highlands
Date	Friday, November 28 - 3:00 p.m. / Saturday, November 29 - 3:00 p.m.
Location	Canyon, Texas | First United Bank Center
Follow Along	WT vs. ASU | WT vs. NMHU
Watch Live	FloCollege (Pay-Per-View)

CANYON, Texas – The #13 Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M return to the First United Bank Center on Friday and Saturday as they host the WT Thanksgiving Classic with matchups against Adams State and New Mexico Highlands with LSC foe UT Permian Basin also taking part in the event.
 
UCCS REWIND
The Lady Buffs ran their win streak to four games last Thursday night as they picked up an 82-71 regional road victory over the UCCS Mountain Lions at Gallogly Events Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kyla Kane led the performance with 15 points and three blocks, converting 8 of 10 free throws. Karley Motschenbacher posted 17 points and collected nine rebounds, along with four assists.
 
A LOOK AT THE GRIZZLIES
Adams State enters the holiday weekend with an overall record of 4-2. The Grizzlies are coming off a trip to Billings, Montana as they dropped a contest to Simon Fraser (49-42) on November 21^st before bouncing back with a 67-52 victory over Montana State Billings.
 
The Grizzlies, picked third in the preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference poll, have appeared in the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons. Adams State finished 2024-25 with an overall record of 19-12 with a 14-6 mark in RMAC action. The Grizzlies fell to top-seeded and eventual South Central Region Champion Texas Woman's (75-52) in the regional quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
 
The Grizzlies roster features two Preseason All-RMAC selections in Kiiyani Anitielu and Taejhuan Hill, along with the return of Graduate Student and multi-time starter Elaina Watson. Hill leads the way offensively for the Grizzlies as the sophomore forward from Albuquerque has gone 42-of-74 (56.8%) from the floor including 19-of-25 (76%) from the free throw line to average 17.2 points per game to go along with 55 rebounds, 16 assists, seven steals and five blocks.
 
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 fifth season at the helm of the Grizzlies. He holds an overall record of 77-45 overall record in Alamosa as Caetano has coached seven All-RMAC performers and a pair of All-Region honorees.
 
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 ninth all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Grizzlies in a series that dates back to 2004. The Lady Buffs are 7-1 against Adams State with Friday marking the fourth meeting in Canyon. 
 
Last season's meeting in Canyon saw the Lady Buffs race past the Grizzlies in a 72-48 victory. Randi Harding led the way for the Lady Buffs as the Mustang, Oklahoma product scored a game-high 24 points to go along with four boards and two assists. 
 
A LOOK AT THE COWGIRLS
New Mexico Highlands enters the weekend with an unbeaten overall record of 3-0 as they have claimed victories over Cameron (78-62) and Western New Mexico (106-40 / 92-43). New Mexico Highlands was tabbed 8^th in the RMAC Coaches' Preseason Poll.
 
The Cowgirls are led offensively by Kapiolani Anitielu as the sophomore guard from Farmington, New Mexico has gone 23-of-50 (46%) from the floor including 5-of-17 (29.4%) from deep and 3-of-4 (75%) from the free throw line to average 18.0 points per game to go along with 21 rebounds, five assists and 14 steals.
 
NMHU finished the 2024-25 campaign with an overall record of 13-14 with a 10-10 mark in RMAC action. The Cowgirls advanced to the opening round of the RMAC Championships before falling on the road at top-seeded Colorado Mesa, 72-46. It was the first time in 20 years that a Cowgirls basketball team had reached the postseason. 
 
NMHU HEAD COACH LINDSEY FEARING
Lindsay Fearing begins her second season as Head Women's Basketball Coach at New Mexico Highlands in 2025-26. Fearing came to NMHU after four years as the Head Coach at Central Wyoming College from 2018-22 where she saw a number of her players move on to four year programs. 
 
Her collegiate playing career began at Casper College where she helped her team to back to back Region IX Championships.  She then played a year at the University of Arizona before playing her final year at Black Hills State.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon is the 12^th all-time meeting on the hardwood between West Texas A&M and New Mexico Highlands in a series that dates back to 1985. The Lady Buffs are a perfect 11-0 in the series including an 8-0 record during games played in Canyon.
 
The last meeting came on November 20, 2023 in Las Vegas, New Mexico as the Lady Buffs claimed an 81-55 victory. Azia Himeur led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs, going 5-of-8 from behind the arc for a team-best 15 points followed by Nyalam Thabach (14), Hollie Stalder (13) and Bree Brattain (12) all in double-figures.
 
WT HEAD COACH JOSH PROCK
Josh Prock is now in his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Buff Basketball program. The Lady Buffs made the program's 29th appearance in the NCAA Division II Postseason during the 2024-25 campaign as they went 19-13 overall with a 12-10 mark in the LSC. The Lady Buffs advanced to the South Central Regional Semifinals.
 
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 291-47 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.
 
LSC PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
West Texas A&M senior guard Kyla Kane was tabbed the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the Year announced on Monday, October 20th. The 5-foot-10 native of Wellington, Texas, averaged 13.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. She shot 89.8 percent from the free throw line and made 56 3-pointers. She was a second team all-LSC selection.
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
The Lady Buffs were selected fourth in the 2025 LSC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Defending Regional Champion Texas Woman's claimed 20 of the possible 51 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 810 points followed by Lubbock Christian (14 first place, 776), UT Tyler (eight first place, 761), West Texas A&M (six first place, 663) and Eastern New Mexico (two first place, 657) to round out the top five. Angelo State (656) sits sixth followed by Texas A&M-Kingsville (564), UT Permian Basin (466), Midwestern State (461), St. Mary's (438), St. Edward's (363), Oklahoma Christian (310), Cameron (262), Texas A&M International (one first place, 210), UT Dallas (168), Western New Mexico (161) and Sul Ross State (77).
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August of 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month). Additionally, those who use an .edu email address from an LSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year ($5.99/month).