WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Jan. 18) – TWU sophomore center Erin Maxwell recorded her second straight double-double to lead the Pioneers to a big upset by beating Midwestern State, 57-55, on the road at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, TX.  Entering the game, MSU was ranked #6 in the D2 Media Poll and #20 in USA Today Sports/WBCA Top-25 poll.
 
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 11-6 on the season and 4-2 in the Lone Star Conference.  MSU drops to 13-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
 
Maxwell led TWU with a career-high 16 points on 8-for-16 shooting and cleared a game-high 12 rebounds.  Sophomore Kenesha Saygo also reached double-digits in scoring for the Pioneers with 13 points while senior Ria Pateraki added nine points to the TWU cause.  Saygo and senior Barbara-Scott Kolb had four steals each for the Pioneers.
 
Through the first 10 minutes of the game both teams traded baskets.  After five ties and four lead changes, MSU used a 10-1 run to take a 25-16 lead.  Trailing by eight points with two minutes to go in the first half, the Pioneers scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to one, 30-29, at the break.
 
TWU started the second half on a 10-4 run to take a five-point lead at 12:10 mark.  After the Mustangs cut the deficit to two points on an old-fashioned three-point play, the Pioneers scored 11 straight points to take the game's biggest lead, 50-37, with less than eight minutes left on the clock.  MSU used a 9-0 run in the final minutes to make it a four-point game but sophomore Deja Pointer hit four straight free throws and freshman Morgan Easley went 1-for-2 from the line to seal the win for TWU. 
 
After shooting 31.3 percent in the first half, the Pioneers hit 50.0 percent of their shots in the second half.  TWU also held Midwestern State to just 29.3 percent including 27.3 percent in the second half.  The Pioneers also outscored MSU 32-22 in the paint and TWU's bench had a 31-10 advantage over the Mustangs' bench.
 
"I am really proud of our defense the entire game," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson.  "The 7-0 run we had right before the halftime was huge.  We carried the momentum into the second half and built a 13-point lead.  Erin struggled a little in the first half but bounced back and had huge second half going 4-for-4 from the field.  I am also proud of Deja for stepping to the line and making the free throws in the final seconds to seal the win for us."
 
The Pioneers will return to action when they host Eastern New Mexico on Thursday, Jan. 22.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Kitty Magee Arena.