DENTON, Texas (Mar. 6) – The TWU basketball team went toe-to-toe with the No. 6 West Texas A&M in the semifinals of the 2015 LSC Championship before falling 82-74 to the Lady Buffs at the Allen Event Center on Friday night.
 
With the loss, the Pioneers end their 2014-15 season with a 16-13 overall record.
 
Sophomore Kenesha Saygo led four TWU players in double-figures with 16 points while sophomore Deja Pointer came off the Pioneers' bench and added 13 points.  TWU sophomore Emily Spector recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Erin Maxwell added 10 points and three blocks off the TWU bench as well.
 
Both teams went back and forth the entire first half with five ties and six lead changes.  With the score tied at 16, the Pioneers went on a 7-2 run to take a 23-18 lead but WT responded with a run of their own to go on top 26-25.  After both teams traded baskets, the score was tied at 31-31 with 1:35 left on the clock.  The Lady Buffs outscored TWU, 5-2, in the final minute to take a 36-33 half time lead.
 
The Pioneers again tied the game early in the second half but WT used a 7-1 run to build a 43-37 lead at 14:30 mark.  TWU regrouped and outscored the Lady Buffs, 17-6 in a span of five minutes to go on top 54-49.  WT responded with seven straight points to regain the lead with 6:52 left in the game. 
 
The Pioneers trailed by just two points, 64-62, at 3:28 mark before WT converted an old-fashioned three-point play to push the lead to five.  TWU managed to stay within five points but the Lady Buffs went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute to seal the win.
 
"It was such a battle and I am so proud of our team," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson.  "I am disappointed that we lost, but I am so proud of the way they shared the basketball and the way they played as a team.  Give credit to West Texas A&M.  They are No. 6 in the nation for a reason but we kept them on their heels and we did some good things."
 
The Pioneers shot 43.9 percent from the floor including 50.0 percent from the three-point range hitting 8 of 16 from behind the arc.   The TWU bench has been a vital piece to the Pioneers' success this season and the reserves stepped up against on Friday night as they scored 34 of the team's 74 points against WT.
 
The loss to WT also brought down the curtain on the collegiate careers of the four seniors on the 2014-15 TWU team – Barbara-Scott Kolb, Toree Mason, Ria Pateraki and Ashley Salazar.
 
"Those four seniors have meant a lot to our program," Jillson said. "It's hard to say goodbye to them because they have done so much.  I am so proud of them and honored to coach them.  Good thing is that we have a young team and their legacy will live on through them."