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Lady Buffs Trample Zias, 91-44
Jan. 24, 2005
The last time that the West Texas A&M University women's basketball team played its border-rival, Eastern New Mexico University, the Lady Buffs needed a pair of free throws from senior guard Suni Jo Petty with 9.7 seconds left to secure the victory. Monday night was a different story as Petty hit a 3-pointer just eight seconds into the game as the Lady Buffs never looked back, running away with a 91-44 win in a Lone Star Conference South Division clash.
WTAMU swept the season series with its nearest neighbors, after edging ENMU, 61-58, on Jan. 10 at Portales, N.M. The Lady Buffs have also won four of the last five meetings and hold a 45-9 advantage all-time. It was also WTAMU's largest margin of victory in the series since a 97-49 rout on Jan. 4, 1997.
With the win, the Lady Buffs won at home for just the second time in the last five games at home, improving to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in LSC South play.
The Zias have lost seven of their last nine contests, falling to 7-10 overall and 1-3 in the LSC South. Monday was ENMU's eighth consecutive game without leading scorer Laci Lee, who has been absent from the lineup with an ankle injury.
Every Lady Buff in uniform scored for the first time this season, as WTAMU set a season-high for points, 3-pointers and assists. WTAMU also bounced back from Thursday night's dismal performance in which the Lady Buffs shot a paltry 3-of-25 from 3-point land, tying a season-low for treys made and setting a season-low 3-point pct. (.120).
Freshman guard Dixie Bell single-handedly eclipsed Thursday's team 3-point output, as she was 5-of-5 from downtown, setting a new career-high by netting a game-high 17 points.
The Lady Buffs drained a season-high 12 treys (12-of-25), hitting 48.0 percent from behind the arc, finishing the night 34-of-64 (53.1 percent) from the field.
Senior forward Vasha Adams added 16 points and swiped five steals, while junior forward Keisha Monroe tallied 10 points and had four blocks.
Senior guard Stephanie Williams dished out a career-high eight assists, while sophomore forward Natalie Wheeler pulled down a career-high and game-high eight rebounds, leading WTAMU to a 45-38 rebounding advantage.
Petty and senior forward Celeste Stevenson each tallied nine points apiece, as Stevenson scored all her points in the first half, only seeing two minutes of action in the second half, resting along with some of the other WTAMU starters as Monday's game was the Lady Buffs' third in five days.
ENMU, which was led by Heather Brown's 13 points, shot 24.2 percent (15-of-62) from the field, including 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from 3-point land. The Zias committed 22 turnovers, including 14 in the first half.
The Lady Buffs outscored the Zias, 19-10, in points off turnovers, as well as dominating in the paint, 40-12.
The WTAMU reserves scored more than the entire ENMU team, as the Lady Buffs scored 58 points off the bench, compared to just 14 for the Zias.
One of the bench points came from freshman forward Morgan Carrio, who tallied her first point in a Lady Buff uniform, hitting 1-of-2 free throws in the second half.
WTAMU bolted out to a 14-1 lead, as Adams had a steal and layup at the 16:12 mark, before ENMU hit its first field goal at 15:30.
The margin hit 20 points for the first tim at 26-5 with 12:53 left on a jumper from the middle of the key.
Bell hit a 3-pointer from the wing to surge the gap to 30 points at 39-9 with 4:58 left in the half, as the Lady Buffs coasted to a 50-19 halftime advantage.
A 3-pointer from junior guard Sassy Pyburn in the left corner gave WTAMU its first 40-point margin of the contest at 62-22 with 13:39 to play and the lead crept to its largest of the night 47, as Bell hit a layup with 2:06 remaining to make it 85-38.
WTAMU hits the road for a pair of LSC South contests this weekend, traveling to Kingsville, Texas on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m., followed by the mens' game at 8 p.m.
The Lady Buffs will then head to Denton, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 29, to take on Texas Woman's University at 3 p.m.
Fans can tune into the Buffalo Sports Network on KGNC 710 AM or streamed on the Internet at www.gobuffsgo.com.
WTAMU returns home to host traditional rivals Angelo State University and Abilene Christian University on Thursday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 5, respetively.
For ticket information, contact the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office at 806-651-4424.
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