DENTON, Texas (Feb. 24) – TWU senior forward
Danielle Westerfield scored 10 points and cleared a team-high eight rebounds but the Pioneers suffered a 77-70 loss to visiting Cameron in their final regular season game.
TWU rallied from a 24-point deficit to make it a two possession game in the final minute, 76-70, but couldn't get any closer as they dropped to 20-8 on the season and 10-6 in the conference.
Westerfield, one of three players in double figures in scoring, played her final game in Kitty Magee Arena. Junior
Kenesha Saygo led all players with 19 points while junior
Deja Pointer added 10 points. Sophomore
Alexis Nezianya also cleared eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Both teams traded baskets early in the first quarter before the Aggies used 17-6 run to take a 23-12 lead at the end of the quarter. Cameron pushed the lead to 14 points in the second quarter but the Pioneers chipped away to make it a six-point game, 40-34, at the break.
After TWU scored the first basket in the third quarter, the Aggies went on a 15-2 run to take a 55-38 lead. Cameron extended its lead to 24 points, 67-43, in the final two minutes of the quarter before taking a 68-47 lead after three.
The Pioneers outscored Cameron 23-9 in the fourth quarter. TWU held the Aggies to just three points in the final five minutes of the game. Trailing by 15 points in the final two minutes, the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run to make it 76-70 but ran out of time for a seven-point loss.
"We fought hard to get back in the game but a 24-point deficit is tough to overcome," said TWU head coach
Beth Jillson. "At times we were great defensively. We forced 21 turnovers and scored 26 points of those turnovers but we missed a lot of easy looks inside that we have to make."
The Pioneers will now have a week off before playing in the 2016 Lone Star Conference Championship Tournament on Mar. 2-5 at the Allen Event Center in Allen, TX. The seeding, opponents, and the game times will be determined following the remaining LSC games on Saturday, Feb. 27.
