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Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

PORTALES, N.M. - The West Texas A&M women's basketball team went on a 23-4 run midway through the first half en route to a 85-60 rout of the Eastern New Mexico Zias on Saturday at Greyhound Arena, improving their overall record to 12-3 and their Lone Star Conference South mark to 2-0.

The 25-point win marked WT's sixth victory of 20 or more points this season.

Junior guard Emily Brister just missed recording her fourth double-double of the season as she collected a team-high 21 points - including another perfect night from the free throw line where she sank 1-of-1 opportunities - and a team-high nine rebounds. Four other Lady Buffs joined Brister in double-digit scoring as WT benefitted from 16 points from junior Courtney Lee, 13 from freshman Megan McLain, 11 from junior Dixie Bell and 10 from sophomore Holly Isaacs.

The Lady Buffs got off to a slow start, missing six of their first eight shots before head coach Krista Gerlich called a timeout. After the break, junior guard Dixie Bell hit a three-pointer on each of the next two trips down the court to swing the momentum in favor of WT. Junior Chelsea Blackshear hit another long distance basket on the next possession which gave WT the lead at 13-12 as the Lady Buffs went on a 23-4 run, taking a 25-14 lead with 8:37 left in the half.

A basket from behind the arc by Brister with 3:37 to go in the period gave the Lady Buffs a 12-point advantage which they never relinquished as West Texas A&M led by 13 points or more for the rest of the game.

With 3:06 on the clock, junior Courtney Lee stole the ball and sank a breakaway lay-up to put the Lady Buffs ahead by a 39-25 advantage. Sophomore Holly Isaacs was next to score a wide-open lay-up, with 1:31 to play, as junior Jamie Dreiling made a diving steal and tossed the ball to Isaacs from the floor.

The teams traded pairs of free throws in the last 44 seconds, with West Texas A&M heading into the locker room ahead by a 47-32 margin. For the half, WTAMU shot 67% (6-of-9) from three-point range, including 2-of-2 from both Brister - who scored 17 points in 18 minutes - and Bell.

Isaacs kicked off the second half with a jumper from the top of the key as the Lady Buffs padded their lead. A three-pointer from McLain at the 10:00 mark was answered almost immediately by Zia Cat Clay, making it 70-51 WT at 9:45; the score did not change until ENMU's Kara Bible sank a lay-up with 6:34 left in the game.

WT's lead was too much for Eastern New Mexico to overcome, though, as the Zias never recovered from the Lady Buffs' first-half run. Additionally, the Lady Buffs scored 37 points off 25 ENMU turnovers and picked up 12 second-chance points.

McLain tallied her previous season-high of nine points in the second half to finish with a new season- and career-high of 13. Bell's final count of 11 points and Blackshear's team-high seven assists also set new individual season-highs.

West Texas A&M returns to the First United Bank Center on Jan. 23 for a 6 p.m. tip-off against LSC South rival Midwestern State, with the men's match-up set for 8 p.m.