DENTON, Texas (Dec. 3) – TWU sophomore Morgan Easley scored a career-high 17 points, senior Danielle Westerfield shot 6-for-6 from the floor and the Pioneers' defense held Oklahoma Christian to a 26.5 percent shooting in a 79-70 win Thursday night.  With the win TWU improved to 6-2 on the season.
 
Easley led four players in double-digit scoring.  Westerfield came off the bench and score 14 points while junior Emily Spector and freshman Kara Mitchell added 12 points each.  Spector was one rebound short of a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds.
 
The Pioneers started the game on an 8-0 run and led by 12 points, 21-9, at the end of the first quarter.  TWU maintained a double-digit lead halfway through the second quarter before the Eagles went on a run.  OCU used an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to two points but the Pioneers took a 31-26 lead at the break.
 
TWU scored the first six points of the third quarter to push the lead back to double digits, 37-26.  The Eagles chipped away to make it a five-point game but the Pioneers used a 10-0 run to take a 55-40 lead and were up 59-44 after three quarters.
 
TWU took the game's biggest lead, 69-47, on a pair of Westerfield's free throws at 5:39 mark in the fourth quarter.  The Eagles used a late 12-3 run to make it a 79-70 final.
 
"I really liked the way we came out with a lot of energy," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson.  "I liked our chemistry early on and shot the ball with confidence.  We played great defense for three and a half quarter.  We gave up 20 points in the last five minutes of the game, but other than that our players flew around and guarded hard."
 
The Pioneers outrebounded OCU, 55-41, and blocked eight shots.  TWU shot 50.0 percent from the floor including 54.8 percent in the second half.
 
TWU will now take a short break from playing games for the finals and will return to action in nine days.  The Pioneers will travel to Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 12 to face Arkansas-Fort Smith.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Stubblefield Center.