#9 West Texas A&M (9-1) vs. #23 Ferris State (7-2)
Date	Thursday, December 18 | 7:30 p.m. CT
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii | The Shark Tank
Follow Along	Live Stats
Watch Live	Pass That Ball Live (Pay-Per-View)
Additional Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The #9 Lady Buffs jump out of Lone Star Conference play as they make the trip to Honolulu, Hawaii to take part in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic, battling the #23 Ferris State Bulldogs on Thursday night with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. inside of The Shark Tank on the campus of Hawaii Pacific.
 
UT DALLAS REWIND
The then #10 Lady Buffs ran their win streak to nine games on Saturday afternoon as they picked up a 73-62 Lone Star Conference victory over the UT Dallas Comets at the UTD Activity Center in Richardson, Texas. Taylor Haggan led with 19 points and collected 10 rebounds, making 9 of 12 field goals. Kenadee Winfrey recorded three steals and added seven points, contributing six rebounds. Randi Harding posted 10 points and converted all six of her free throws.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ferris State enters the week with an overall record of 7-2 with a 1-1 mark in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play following a 84-71 loss at Wayne State on Saturday in Detroit, Michigan. Mia Riley led the way offensively for the Bulldogs, going 5-of-10 from the floor including 15-of-15 from the free throw line to score a team-best 29 points with four rebounds and three steals.
 
This year, the Bulldogs welcome back 11 squad members from last season, including a six-member senior class. The group of returnees includes standout guard Kadyn Blanchard, who missed most of last season due to injury, along with a pair of returning all-conference players in Riley and Mya Hiram.
 
Riley is the top-returning scorer for the Bulldogs as the senior guard from Fowler, Michigan went 160-of-374 (42.8%) from the floor last season including 56-of-163 (34.4%) from behind the arc and 120-of-144 (83.3%) from the free throw line to average 14.3 points per game to go along with 201 rebounds, 102 assists, 95 steals and 15 blocks.
 
Ferris State was picked third in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll following a 21-12 overall record last season, advancing to the NCAA Midwest Regional Quarterfinals before falling to Ashland, 62-50.
 
FSU HEAD COACH KURT WESTENDORP
Kurt Westendorp is now in his sixth season leading the Ferris State women's basketball program. He became the Bulldogs' eighth head coach in the history of FSU in 2020. Westendorp led the Bulldogs to their third NCAA Tournament berth in the past four years in 2024-25, which also includes a historic run to the NCAA D2 National Semifinals in 2023-24. The Bulldogs closed last year with a 21-12 overall record and made their eighth national tournament bid in school history.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday evening is the first all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Lady Buffs and Bulldogs. 
 
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 reached the 300-career victory milestone on Thursday, December 4th in a 76-51 victory over Oklahoma Christian at the First United Bank Center in Canyon.
 
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 294-47 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).
 
1,000 CAREER POINTS
Senior guard Kyla Kane became the 26th player in Lady Buff Basketball history to reach the 1,000 career point plateau on Saturday, November 29th in an 84-57 victory over New Mexico Highlands at the First United Bank Center during the WT Thanksgiving Classic. 
 
LADY BUFFS ON THE BIG ISLAND
This week marks the fifth Hawaiian trip by Lady Buff Basketball dating back to 1985. West Texas A&M is 7-2 all-time in the Aloha State.
 
January 3, 1986 - vs. Cornell - W, 81-54 (Honolulu)
January 4, 1986 - vs. Washington - L, 75-66 (Honolulu)
January 5, 1986 - vs. US International - W, 84-72 (Honolulu)
December 15, 1997 - vs. Assumption - W, 83-62 (Hilo)
December 16, 1997 - vs. Stonehill - L, 85-71 (Hilo)
December 19, 2004 - vs. SIU Edwardsville - W, 66-52 (Honolulu)
December 20, 2004 - vs. Northwest Missouri State - W, 71-50 (Honolulu)
December 28, 2009 - at Hawaii Pacific - W, 92-79 (Honolulu)
December 30, 2009 - at BYU Hawaii - W, 73-57 (Laie)