March 1, 2008

Box Score

DENTON, Texas - Junior Emily Brister recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double as the West Texas A&M women's basketball team rounded out regular season play with a 66-63 victory over Texas Woman's on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Buffs (23-4, 13-1 LSC-S) already clinched the regular season crown and the top seed in the upcoming Lone Star Conference Tournament with their win over Abilene Christian earlier this week, but the loss for Texas Woman's eliminates the Pioneers from a spot in the tournament.

In addition to setting a new school record for career points against ACU, Brister's 15 points against Texas Woman's on Saturday solidified her in WT's record books as the first Lady Buff in program history to eclipse the 2,000-point mark, as she now has a total of 2,008 points in her three years in Canyon.

Fellow classmate Jamie Dreiling led the Lady Buffs' offensive drive with her game-high 20 points - just one point shy of her season high - including 13 in the second half in addition to six rebounds. Junior point guard Dixie Bell grabbed a team-high five steals to contribute to WT's 14 take-aways; as a team, the Lady Buffs scored 21 points off of 21 TWU turnovers.

The first half was a close fight, with both teams trading baskets until TWU took a three-point lead, 21-18, on a lay-up by Keshia Bolds at the 10:36 mark. The basket sparked a 10-4 run that put the Pioneers ahead, 31-22 with 5:32 on the clock.

Brister cut the lead down to three points with two made free throws with 3:27 left in the half - the first of which marked her 2,000th career point - but Texas Woman's was able to rebuild its lead back to eight points on 1-of-2 free throws by Brandi Crouch with 52 ticks left.

An offensive rebounds and a made jumper at the buzzer by Cherilyn McMenamy reduced the TWU lead to just six points, 40-34, at the half. This game marked just the fourth time this season that WTAMU was trailing at halftime and the third time that the Lady Buffs made a comeback to earn to the victory.

"I thought that our girls really persevered," said head coach Krista Gerlich. "I went into the locker room at halftime and really challenged them. After playing Tarleton and ACU, we knew that this would be an emotional game. I was really proud that our girls held TWU to 23 points in the second half, because I really got on them about letting Texas Woman's score 40 in the first half."

Four turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half allowed WT to tie the game, as Brister grabbed the ball from TWU's Crouch and made an easy lay-up to knot the score at 41-41and force a Pioneer timeout at the 16:46 mark.

The game remained close with neither team taking more than a three-point lead as they tied the game six more times, the last of which was on a Crouch free-throw with 3:13 left to play.

Freshman Joni Unruh was fouled just 21 seconds later and sank both free throws to pu WT on top, 59-61, with 2:52 on the clock. TWU's Renee Renz committed a turnover and a foul to give the ball back to WT, and Dreiling sank a lay-up with 1:46 to play, giving the Lady Buffs a four-point cushion.

The Pioneers fought back to pull within one point on a Bolds jumper with 54 seconds on the clock then got the ball back on a blocked shot by Renz. However, Jenessa McKray slapped the ball away from TWU's Savannah Thompson which allowed junior Courtney Lee to pick up the steal with 12 seconds on the clock.

Junior Chelsea Blackshear drew an intentional foul by Pioneer Jessica Durr then sank two free throws with 11 ticks left to ensure WT's 23rd win of the season as the Lady Buffs won, 66-63.

As the No. 1 seed in the South Division, West Texas A&M is set to play Southeastern Oklahoma, the No. 4 seed in the North Division, on March 6 in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, with tip-off from Bartlesville, Okla., set for 8:30 p.m.