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Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

CANYON, Texas - The Lady Buffs remained in the driver's seat of the Lone Star Conference South Division standings and set up a pivotal divisional match-up next Wednesday night as they defeated Tarleton State, 64-48, in front 3,123 fans at the First United Bank Center on Saturday night.

The win improves WT's overall record this season to 21-4 while also pressing its mark in LSC South affairs to 11-1. The lone loss in conference play came against Abilene Christian, who sits just behind the Lady Buffs in the division standings at 9-2 and makes an appearance in Canyon on Wednesday.

Junior Emily Brister led the Buffs in scoring with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor and a 7-of-8 night from the free throw line. Junior Jamie Dreiling and freshman Joni Unruh joined Brister in double-figure scoring with 10 points apiece.

For the game, the Lady Buffs shot only 36.8 percent but got a good effort on the defensive end of the court where they forced 24 TSU turnovers and held the TexAnns to only 33.3 percent shooting from the floor. Brister was also the Lady Buffs' leader in the rebounding column, but TSU held a 39-35 advantage on the boards.

The game did not get off to the start that WT head coach Krista Gerlich envisioned as the Lady Buffs fell behind by five points on a pair of free throws at the 14:53 mark of the first half, but a three-pointer from junior guard Chelsea Blackshear got the Lady Buffs back on the right track with 13:17 on the clock.

Throughout the opening period, the game remained tight as the half featured eight lead changes, seven ties and neither team holding more than a five point advantage. The frame did end on a positive note for the Lady Buffs as freshman Megan McLain's jumper with only six ticks left on the clock sent them to the locker room with a slim 28-27 advantage.

After the intermission, the Lady Buffs claimed seven of the half's first nine points to build a six-point advantage at 35-29.

TSU clawed its way back to cut the lead down to a single basket at, 43-41, on a jumper by Kendal Reddell but that would be as close as they could get to retaking the lead. From that point, the Lady Buffs went on a 21-3 run in the next 8:17 to pull away with the victory.

Game time for the next WT-ACU contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the First United Bank Center, with the LSC South Regular season title on the line as well as the top seed at the LSC Championships, which will be held March 5-9 in Bartlesville, Okla.