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Jan. 10, 2008

Box Score

LAWTON, Okla. - With the help of back-to-back three-point baskets from sophomore Holly Isaacs within the first three minutes of the second half and just nine turnovers as a team, the Lady Buff basketball team surged en route to a 67-47 victory over Lone Star Conference North Division opponent Cameron on Thursday.

With the win, WTAMU improves to 9-3 on the season while Cameron falls to 2-12.

"I'm just so proud of our team for only having nine turnovers for the whole game because that's really what we've been working on in practice," said head coach Krista Gerlich. "Dixie handled the ball really well for us and Holly has been very consistent."

Isaacs finished with 11 points by way of shooting 3-for-5 from behind the arc and 3-for-6 from the floor. Junior point guard Dixie Bell ended play with seven points, six assists and three rebounds. Juniors Emily Brister and Jamie Dreiling joined Isaacs in double-figure scoring as Brister finished with a team-high 21 points while Dreiling added 12 of her own.

Bell dished out four assists in the first half but the Aggies kept the game close by virtue of their leading scorer Jasmine Parr's 12 points. Midway through the stanza, WTAMU had made only 5-of-16 baskets as Cameron took advantage; Parr made a three-pointer at 8:26 to put the Aggies on top then stretched the lead to three points, 17-14, with a lay-up at 7:49.

Despite six lead changes in the half, the home team could hold on and WT pulled back ahead as Isaacs sank two free throws and Brister made a jump shot within the last two minutes to send the Lady Buffs into the locker room with a three point lead, 27-24.

"I really thought we played well in the first half but Cameron also played really well," said Gerlich. "[Cameron] is a really talented team and they got their act together in the first half. It was probably our hardest fought 20-point win all year."

West Texas A&M came out firing in the second half as Bell and Brister each made lay-ups to spark a 10-2 run - which also included two of Isaacs three-pointers - giving the Lady Buffs a 37-26 advantage. A sequence of a jumper from Cameron's Sarah Moore, a Brister turnover and a lay-up from Cameron's Tiffany Williams pulled the Aggies within six, but that was as close as they would get. WT benefited from a three-pointer from Dreiling, followed by two made free throws by Brister as a result of a technical foul called on Cameron's bench to regain the double-digit lead.

Dreiling sank another basket from three-point range with 10:02 on the clock to give the Lady Buffs a 50-34 lead, and freshman Joni Unruh notched seven points in the last 6:36 of the game to put the nail in the coffin as WT ended play with a 20-point advantage.

Unruh crashed the boards against the Aggies, pulling down a game- and career-high 11 rebounds - six offensive, five defensive - while also collecting nine total points, two assists, one block and one steal.

"Joni is so athletic and she moves so well without the ball. She made a few really nice back door moves that got her open to score," said Gerlich. "They all have figured out their roles. Jamie made her first three-pointers and Dixie handled the ball really well. Courtney Lee sat on the bench most of the first half in foul trouble and Chelsea Blackshear stepped in and played well in her place. We need to keep playing like this, especially going into Saturday's game."

The Lady Buffs conclude their Sooner State road trip on Saturday with a 6 p.m. match-up against Southwestern Oklahoma in the last of the Lone Star Conference crossover action.