SILVER CITY, N.M. (Feb. 11, 2017) - The defense of Texas Woman's University held Western New Mexico to a less than 27-percent shooting performance from the field in a 78-52 win Saturday afternoon on Drag's Court with Kenesha Saygo leading the Pioneers with 19 points.
 
TWU (15-9, 8-8 LSC) held the Mustangs (4-19, 0-16 LSC) to 19-of-71 on field goals for their best defensive outcome on the season and limited Jordan Gutierrez, the conference's second leading scorer, to 11 points on 4-of-27 shooting. The Pioneers also matched their largest rebounding margin on the year by grabbing 55 boards compared to 38 from WNMU. Offensively, Kara Mitchell totaled 11 points, while Emily Spector and Morgan Easley each added nine.
 
The Mustangs stuck with the Pioneers throughout the first quarter, even building a 15-11 lead with 1:18 remaining in the quarter. Saygo scored in the paint to tie the contest at 15-all 30 seconds into the second quarter to ignite a 21-5 run that pushed the Pioneers in front, 36-20, with two minutes to go before the half.
 
Saygo again connected in the lane within the first minute of the third quarter, and Grace Mitchell knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Pioneers a 42-26 lead. With TWU leading 56-37 with 1:42 on the clock, Bria'anna Gray and Andrea Mapua each scored two buckets to help close the quarter on a 10-2 run and put the Pioneers up 62-39.
 
Gray connected on a layup for a 64-42 lead in the final period, and a three-pointer by Desiree Phipps and layup by Hailee Ashworth finalized the victory for TWU.
 
The Pioneers host their final homestand next week with a contest Thursday at 7 p.m. against Texas A&M-Commerce and Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Tarleton State.