LAKEWOOD, COLORADO – No. 20 West Texas A&M Women's Basketball (3-1, 0-0 LSC) used a strong second half showing to come away with a 71-48 win over MSU Denver Friday evening. WT's defense held the Roadrunners to 13% shooting in the second half as they outscored them 40-21.
WT got off to a hot start as
Abbi Holder cashed a pair of triples for the early 6-2 Lady Buff advantage. MSUD would battle back to take the lead at 7-6 before the teams traded a pair of buckets.
Arissa Garcia knocked in a three and then assisted
Taylor Haggan on a jumper to get their lead back to four. WT would end the first quarter leading 14-11.
To start the second quarter, Haggan scored the first five for the Lady Buffs with an inside finish and three-pointer to push the lead up to eight. The Roadrunners countered with a 5-0 run before West Texas A&M countered the counter by using an 8-0 spurt to go up double-digits. Holder cashed her third three and
Ciara Harris splashed one for the 27-16 lead with 3:42 left in the first half. MSU Denver would cut their deficit down to four points with a pair of triples as the halftime score set at 31-27.
Moving into the second half, the Lady Buffs burst out with a 12-3 run to get the lead back up to double digits at 42-30 as eight of those points came in the paint. West Texas A&M steadily held a 7+ point lead for the remainer of the quarter as strong defense held the Roadrunners to 3/16 from the field.
Heading into the final frame leading 52-41, West Texas A&M broke the game open with a 10-0 run to lead by 21 as eight of those 10 points again came in the paint. On the defensive end, WT did not allow any points through nearly five minutes of the fourth to help build and maintain their lead. West Texas A&M led by 17+ points the rest of the game as they went on to win 71-48. The defense stepped up in the second half for the Lady Buffs as MSU Denver shot 13% in the third and fourth quarters with 12 second half turnovers.
Top Lady Buffs
- Taylor Haggan stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points (6/11), seven rebounds, six assists, and a block and steal. She tied her season-high in scoring while recording her third game with 4+ assists and third game with 7+ rebounds.
- Abbi Holder scored an efficient 13 points (5/8) while adding three three-pointers, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Holder has scored in double-figures in all but one game. This was her second game with 3+ threes ad second multi-steal game.
- Arissa Garcia totaled five points, six rebounds, and six assists along with a steal. This was her second game with 6+ rebounds and second with 6+ assists.
Buffalo Bits
- West Texas A&M is now 12-3 all-time against MSU Denver and have won four straight games.
- WT led the game in field goal percentage (41.3-22.7), three-pointers made (9-7), assists (21-5), steals (12-5), points in the paint (28-16), points off turnovers (23-13), second chance points (11-10), and bench points (26-4).
- Kerbie Cash neared a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. She added three assists and three steals. Her rebounds and steals were both season-highs.
- Ciara Harris and Zarai Lewis both knocked in two triples and nabbed a steal as they scored nine and seven points respectively. Both tallied a season-high in scoring.
- Taejhuan Hill snagged nine rebounds to go with four points, two assists, and a steal. Hill has had 9+ rebounds in every game this season.
- Mylasia Smith scored four points on 2/3 shooting.
- Julie Nekolna, Ella Brown, and Anna Ferrel all recorded two points. Brown added two rebounds.
- Juliet Slater grabbed two rebounds in the game.
Up Next
West Texas A&M will be back in action on Sunday, November 15 as they take on No. 2 Colorado Mesa. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. CT.
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