| gobuffsgo.com |
|
#22 Lady Buffs Open Season With 85-75 Win Over St. Mary's
Nov. 19, 2004
EMPORIA, Kan. -- The 22nd-ranked West Texas A&M University used the first half scoring of senior forward Celeste Stevenson and the second half scoring of newcomer junior forward Sassy Pyburn to defeat St. Mary's University, 85-75, in the opening game of the Emporia State University Candlewood Suites Classic at White Auditorium at Emporia, Kan. It was the 22nd consecutive season the Lady Buff have opened the season with a win.
Stevenson tallied 20 points in the first half and finished the night with a game-high 28 points, while Pyburn netted 15 second-half points and ended the game with 19. Stevenson surpassed her own tournament record for points, as she set the previous record of 26 in the 2002 ESU Classic.
WTAMU shot 45.2 percent (16-39) from the floor, while STMU was 24-58 (41.4 percent). The Lady Buffs' defense forced 27 turnovers despite being outrebounded by the Rattlers, 40-34.
Stevenson pulled down a team-high seven rebounds (six offensive), while sophomore forward Alicia Saunders had six boards in her Lady Buff debut.
Senior forward Vasha Adams and junior guard Tiffany Lewis netted nine points apiece, while senior guard Suni Jo Petty added seven. Pyburn and Lewis dished out a team-high four assists each, while Adams had a game-high four steals.
St. Mary's, which opened the season Monday by upsetting #14 Angelo State University, 77-68, was led by Charlena Rodez with 20 points, followed by Eva Christian with 19 points and 16 by Chronda Reagan. Juliett Williams pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
WTAMU opened the game with an 11-2 lead in the first two and half minutes of the contest, with nine points by Stevenson. The Rattlers closed to 16-13 at the 12:42 mark following a jumper by Reagan, but the Lady Buffs then went on a 6-0 run capped by a Pyburn lay-up to open a 22-13 lead with 10:07 on the first half clock.
The WTAMU lead never dipped under four points from there on out in the first half, as the Lady Buffs took a 38-31 lead into halftime.
After STMU closed to 38-34, WTAMU reeled off seven straight points, crowned by Pyburn's first 3-pointer of the game, to extend the lead to 45-34 at 17:25, the Lady Buffs' first double-digit lead of the night.
Another trey from Pyburn gave WTAMU its largest lead of the night at 65-49 with 9:27 left.
The Lady Buffs maintained a double-digit lead until 1:12 in the game when the Rattlers cut the lead to 80-71, but WTAMU hit 3-4 free throws down the stretch to keep St. Mary's at bay and Adams capped the scoring with a lay-up at the buzzer.
WTAMU returns to the hardwood Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. to take on host and #5 Emporia State, who is coached by Brandon Schneider, son of Lady Buffs' head coach Bob Schneider. It will be the fourth time father and son have coached against each other, with the younger Schneider holding a 2-1 advantage. ESU defeated WTAMU, 58-57, last year in the ESU Classic, but the Lady Buffs got revenge, knocking off the Lady Hornets, 60-55, in the NCAA-II South Central Regional.
Fans can tune in to Lady Buff basketball on the Buffalo Sports Network on either KGNC 710 AM, or streamed on the Internet on www.gobuffsgo.com.
|
