The No. 5 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs continued their 2013-14 season by defeating Angelo State 95-56 and Texas A&M Kingsville 81-70 on Feb. 5 and Feb. 8, respectively.
On Feb. 5, the Lady Buffs cruised against the Rambelles at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. WTAMU came out strong, scoring the first 11 points of the game and at one point, led by 18. WT stayed consistent and dominated the paint, outrebounding ASU 29-17 going into halftime up 38-22.
The Lady Buffs shot 31 of 66 from the field and leading scorers were senior guard Casey Land with 17 and senior guard Sally Higgins with 14. WT scored 10 three-pointers and went an impressive 23 of 28 from the free throw line. WT had 24 assists and only 11 turnovers in the game.
On Feb. 8 against the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, the Lady Buffs found themselves down early but were able to rally back for the win.
The Lady Buffs shot 49 percent while Texas A&M Kingsville shot 38 percent. WT was 11 of 23 from three-point range and TAMU-K were 5 of 19. WT outrebounded Texas A&M-Kingsville 48-25. For WT, Land scored 20 points, senior forward Devin Griffin had 15, and junior guard Lacee Logan added 14. Leading scorers for TAMU-K were Lauren Jay and Ashley Viera with 14 each.
In the first half, the Lady Buffs struggled by committing 13 turnovers. The Javelinas were able to go up early, outscoring WT 27-17 off turnovers. At one point, TAMU-K went up by 9, which is the biggest lead an opponent has had on the Lady Buffs since Dec. 21, when WT took on Seattle Pacific.
WT was able to get back into the game by playing aggressive defensively and rebounding. In the second half, WT went on a 22-6 run to gain the lead and close out the game.
WT improved to 19-1 overall and 10-0 in Lone Star Conference play. This is the best start for the Lady Buffs basketball team since the 1996-97 season. With 12 straight wins by the Lady Buffs, they broke a winning streak that was set in the 2009-10 season. WT has also scored more than 80 points in eight consecutive games.
Angelo State fell to 11-9 and 5-5 in league play while the Javelinas tumbled to 8-12 overall and 3-7 in Lone Star Conference play.
WT continues the second leg of its road trip on Feb. 12 as they battle the Midwestern State Mustangs for a part of the Highway 287 Challenge at 5:30 p.m.
The next home game for the Lady Buffs on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. against Aggies of Cameron University in the First United Bank Center.
