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Lady Buffs Jump Out Early And Coast To 73-61 Victory Over Lions
Feb. 19, 2005
COMMERCE, Texas --- The West Texas A&M University Lady Buff basketball team jumped on top early and led from start-to-finish for a 73-61 win over Texas A&M University-Commerce Saturday afternoon in a Lone Star Conference South Division showdown at TAMU-C's Field House. WTAMU hit 12-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes to thwart any ideas of a TAMU-C comeback.
Senior forward Celeste Stevenson posted 15 points, including 11 in the first half, as she continues to close in on No. 1 on the WTAMU Career Scoring List, as she currently has 1,899 points, needing just eight points in Thursday's home game against Texas A&M University-Kingsville, to become the all-time career scorer in Lady Buff history.
WTAMU won for the second-straight season at Commerce and seven of the last nine years, improving to 8-3 on the road this season and the Lady Buffs now have a 32-4 all-time series lead.
The Lady Buffs also improve to 18-7 overall and 9-3 in LSC South action, moving into sole possession of second-place after Abilene Christian University was knocked off by TAMU-Kingsville, 76-75, Saturday afternoon.
TAMU-C, which entered the weekend as part of the three-way tie for second with WTAMU and ACU, lost for the second game in a row, falling to 12-13 overall and 7-5 in LSC South action.
The Lions were playing without all-around star Althea Byfield, who sustained an ankle injury in the first half of Thursday's game and didn't suit out Saturday.
All five WTAMU starters posted double-figures, led by senior guard Suni Jo Petty who tallied 12 points in the first half, finishing with a team-high 17 points by draining four 3-pointers, as well as dishing out a team-high six assists. Stevenson's 15 points were followed by 12 points from junior guard Tiffany Lewis and 10 points each by senior guard Stephanie Williams and junior forward Keisha Monroe.
Sophomore forward Alicia Saunders had perhaps her best all-around game in a Lady Buff uniform, posting career-highs with seven points and four blocks, as well as hitting her first free throws of the season, finishing 3-of-6 from the charity stripe. Saunders also played solid defense on TAMU-C's post players.
The Lions had three players in double-digits, led by Katedria Mosley's 21 points, including 14 in the first half, posting a double-double with 12 rebounds. Hazel Woods tallied 13 points after scoring 28 points in TAMU-C's 78-69 win over WTAMU at Canyon back on Jan. 22. Portia Mitchell registered a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Lions to a 39-33 rebounding advantage.
WTAMU shot 23-of-47 (48.9 percent) from the field, including 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) in the first half, finishing the game 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from 3-point land.
TAMU-C was 23-of-62 (37.1 percent) field goal shooting, including 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.
A big difference in the game was from the free throw line, where the Lady Buffs were 20-of-27 (74.1 percent) compared to 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) for the Lions, as Mosley alone was 6-of-12 (50.0 percent).
The Lady Buffs charged to a 6-0 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Petty and Lewis from the exact same spot. WTAMU opened up a 19-2 lead, getting six points in the stretch from Stevenson.
After Petty hit a trey from the top of the key to give the Lady Buffs a 24-9 lead at 11:36, the Lions roared back with an 11-0 run to pull within 24-20, as Mosley scored eight points in the run.
WTAMU later regained control as Petty and Lewis again hit consecutive treys, and Williams hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 37 seconds left to open a 38-24 Lady Buff lead before Mosley hit a layup with 15.6 seconds left to pull the Lions within 38-26 at the half.
The WTAMU lead fluctuated between eight points and as much as 14 points throughout the majority of the second half until the Lions closed to 61-56 after back-to-back treys from Woods, the last at the 2:05 mark.
The Lady Buffs didn't attempt a field goal in the last final two minutes, but they didn't need to as they hit 12-of-12 free throws to thwart any ideas of a Lion comeback.
The Lady Buffs and Buffs return home to host Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 6 and 8 p.m. The WTAMU women conclude regular season action by hosting Texas Woman's University on Saturday, Feb. 26. The world-renowned slam dunk acrobatic group "The Extreme Team" will be performing at halftime.
Contact the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office at 806-651-4424 for ticket information.
Fans can tune into WTAMU Basketball action on the Buffalo Sports Network on KGNC 710 AM or streamed on the Internet at www.gobuffsgo.com.
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