Jan. 11, 2007

Box Score

DURANT, Okla. - A strong defensive effort by the No. 9 West Texas A&M women's basketball team was not enough, as it fell 67-62 to Southeastern Oklahoma on Thursday in a Lone Star Conference crossover battle at the Bloomer Sullivan Gymnasium.

WTAMU shot only 38 percent from the field in the first half, but found themselves down 30-27 at halftime. The Lady Buff defense helped keep them in the game by containing Southeastern to a 9-of-27 shooting performance, and also holding the Savage Storm without a field goal for the last 10 minutes of the half. The Lady Buff defense also forced the Savage Storm into 11 first half turnovers, along with picking up six steals.

SOSU opened the second half up by extending its lead to 11, however WTAMU went on a 17-6 run to tie the game at 54 on a free throw by senior Kara Pridey (Salina, Kansas). The Savage Storm then showed why they lead the nation in free throw percentage, as SOSU made 7-of-9 free throws in the two and a half minutes.

For the game, WTAMU shot its second lowest field goal percentage of the season, on 21-of-54 shooting for 38 percent. The Lady Buffs also only made 2-of-9 from outside, as sophomore's Emily Brister (Amarillo, Texas) and Courtney Lee (Arlington, Texas) converted both shots.

Brister led the way for WTAMU, scoring 20 points to break the 1,000 point milestone and move into 15th place all-time in career scoring with 1,014 points. Following Brister, was Lee and senior Natalie Wheeler (Turkey, Texas), who chipped in to score 10 apiece.

With the loss WTAMU falls 13-3 on the season, while SOSU improves to 10-4 on its 2006-07 campaign. The Lady Buffs will be back in action on Saturday at East Central, tip-off is set for 2 p.m.