DENTON, Texas (Feb. 22) – In their final home game of the season, the TWU basketball team gave fourth-ranked West Texas A&M all it could handle in a 70-56 loss on Sunday afternoon in Kitty Magee Arena.
Prior to tip-off, TWU recognized its four seniors –
Barbara-Scott Kolb,
Toree Mason,
Ria Pateraki and
Ashley Salazar – in a Senior Day ceremony.
Sophomore guard
Kenesha Saygo led the Pioneers in the loss to WT with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists while sophomore center
Erin Maxwell added 10 points and five rebounds. Mason finished with eight points.
The game was tied 7-7 early in the first half before the Lady Buffs went on a 19-5 run to take a 26-12 lead at 6:16 mark. The Pioneers rallied to cut the deficit to four points, 33-29, with 1:26 left on the clock but WT closed out the half on a 6-0 run to take a 39-29 halftime lead.
The Lady Buffs scored the first two baskets of the second half and pushed their lead back to 14 points. WT maintained the lead and was up 52-42 with 11:30 left in the game before the Pioneers made a run. TWU used a 12-5 spurt to cut the deficit to four points, 57-53, at 4:11 mark. The Lady Buffs answered with a run of their own to push the lead back to double-digits and made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minutes to seal the win.
The Pioneers held WT to just 40.0 percent shooting including 26.3 percent from the three-point range. TWU committed 23 turnovers in the game which led to 32 points for the Lady Buffs.
"We did a good job defensively and held the number four team in the country to 70 points, when they came into the game averaging lot more than that," said TWU head coach
Beth Jillson. "Offensively is where we struggled. We gave up 32 points off our turnovers and that's the story of the game. If we took care of the ball, and took high percentage shots, then it's a different story."
The Pioneers will return to action when they close out the regular season on the road at Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the A&M-Commerce Field House.
