Roster | Schedule | News | Archives | Home

March 9, 2007

Box Score

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Sophomore guard Courtney Lee scored 19 of her game-high 23 points to highlight an impressive second half performance by the No. 10 West Texas A&M women's basketball team which opened up the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament on Friday with a 87-72 quarterfinal victory over Northwest Missouri State.

The Lady Buffs (28-4), the tournament's No. 2 seed, will now move on the face third-seeded Washburn in Saturday's semifinal round. Tip-off for the Washburn game is set for 6 p.m. from the MWSU Fieldhouse.

In the game's early portion, Northwest Missouri took a slim advantage after the Bearcats' Meghan Brue opened with the first four points of the game on a pair of jump shots. The Lady Buffs would battle back following an injury to Lee, who replaced by senior Alicia Saunders. The senior from nearby Kansas City helped to spark an 11-2 run by WTAMU which left the team in front by the score of 18-13

The injury break for Lee would be brief, as the sophomore returned to the court with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half after missing only four minutes of game time.

A scoring drought by the Lady Buffs after their initial run would yield the lead and allow the Bearcats to score 11 unanswered points. WTAMU would end the streak of futility and recover on its end of the court when junior Jenessa McKray got loose under the basket for the first Lady Buffs points at the 4:02 mark.

Following the dry spell, WTAMU got its offense back in gear and closed the gap, heading to the locker room at halftime trailing by only one point, 33-32. During the first period, the Lady Buffs shot 44 percent from the floor as a team, but struggled from the free throw line where they converting only one of seven chances.

Lee came out strong after the intermission, spearheading a 6-0 run for the Lady Buffs, which giving them their second lead of the day. The Bearcats were able to counter, trying the game at 42-42, but WTAMU surged again outscoring NWMSU 11-4 to earn a 53-46, which they carried into the second media timeout of the period.

The Lady Buffs continued their hot shooting from the floor throughout the period, converting 17-of-26 shots during the period for an impressive 65.4 shooting percentage. For the game, WTAMU held a 38-25 advantage in the rebounding column, led by sophomore guard Emily Brister, who was solid throughout the contest, and senior Kara Pridey who each pulled down seven. Lee also contributed six rebounds, a figure which included four of the offensive end.

Brister, WTAMU's leading scorer on the year, finished with 20 points in the victory.

Northwest Missouri State was led by Brue in scoring as she connected on 7-of-9 field goals and all eight of her free throw opportunities for the Bearcats, who end their season with an 18-12 overall record.