WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Nov. 13) – The TWU basketball team drained 26 free throws and shot 48.1 percent in the second half to capture a 77-72 win over St. Mary's in the 2015-16 season opener at Ashbrook Classic hosted by Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, TX.
 
Freshman Kara Mitchell made her collegiate debut with a bang, leading the Pioneers in scoring.  She came off the bench and scored 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.  Junior Erin Maxwell recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.  Senior Danielle Westerfield came off the bench and scored 12 points while junior Deja Pointer and sophomore Alexis Nezianya each had nine points.  Freshman Bri'anna Gray also made her collegiate debut with seven points off the bench.
 
TWU got to the free-throw line 38 times in the game including 26 times in the second half and shot 68.4 percent.  The Pioneers also shot 42.4 percent from floor including 37.5 percent in the first half and 48.1 percent in the second half.
 
"We had a lot of players that stepped up and gave us quality minutes," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson. "I was happy with the way we pushed the ball. We were able to attack in transition and got to the free throw line."

TWU trailed the entire first half and was down 21-19 after the first quarter and 37-33 at the half.  The Pioneers were down by as many as nine points in the opening quarter but cut the deficit to two after the first 10 minutes.  St. Mary's extended the lead back to eight points in the second quarter but a 6-2 run in the final three minutes cut the deficit to four at the break for TWU.
 
The Pioneers started the third quarter on a 12-7 run to take their first lead, 45-44.  After the Rattler regained a one-point lead, TWU scored nine straight points to go on top 53-46 with three minutes left in the quarter.  The Pioneers led by as many as nine points before leading 60-53 after three quarters.
 
St. Mary's started the fourth quarter on a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to two but TWU extended its lead back to five points, 69-64, with 4:30 left in the game.  The Pioneers maintained at least a three-point lead the rest of the way while making 8 of 12 free throws in the final minutes to capture the win.
 
TWU will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14 when they face Rogers State at the classic.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.