DENTON, Texas – Macy Wilkerson scored a team-high 18 points off the bench, while Ngozi Obineke narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards as the Texas Woman's University basketball team (7-13, 5-11 Lone Star Conference) snapped a four-game skid with a 68-59 win over Midwestern State (8-12, 5-10) on Saturday inside Kitty Magee Arena.

"First off, I knew this would be a tough game from the start knowing my good friend (Midwestern State head coach) Noel Johnson wouldn't be able to be here today," said Pioneers head coach Beth Jillson. "I always have great respect for her and her team, and knowing she is fighting a battle much bigger than basketball brings a greater appreciation for the opportunity we have as athletes and coaches to play this game each and every day. Moving forward, my thoughts and prayers are with her as she continues to battle ovarian cancer."

MSU held a modest lead through the opening quarter, but the Pioneers claimed the advantage for the first time in the contest at the 3:58 mark of the first quarter on an Obineke layup that put TWU ahead 10-9. MSU answered on the subsequent possession to reclaim the lead and the two teams traded leads down the stretch, but an Ajine Taylor 3-pointer with less than a minute to go put TWU ahead and the Pioneers took a three-point (16-13) lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter was back-and-forth over the first five minutes, but the Pioneers reclaimed the advantage at 22-21 on a pair of Obineke free throws and would not trail again in the half, growing the halftime lead to five (31-26) on a pair of Wilkerson free throws.

Sadie Moyer's jumper at the 3:15 mark of the third quarter pushed the Pioneers' lead to eight (37-29), the largest lead of the contest to that point, but the Mustangs were able to pull back to within four (43-39) entering the fourth quarter.

Midwestern's quarter-opening 3-pointer pulled the Mustangs to within one – one of three times in the fourth quarter that MSU was able to pull to within one – but MSU could not go over the top. After a Hannah Reynolds jumper at the 4:43 mark cut the TWU lead to 53-52, the Pioneers outscored the Mustangs 11-2 over the next four minutes to open up a ten-point (64-54) lead with less than a minute to play.

TWU outshot MSU 38.2 to 33.9 percent from the floor and held a 40-37 rebounding edge, but created the most separation at the charity stripe, connecting on 80.8 percent (21-of-26) of the free-throw attempts while MSU converted on just 65.2 (15-of-23) percent of theirs.

Midwestern State held a 11-10 advantage in points off turnovers, but TWU held a 24-17 advantage in bench points, a 14-7 advantage in second-chance points, and a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint in a game where there were four ties and seven lead changes.

Moyer added 11 points and Ma'K'La Woods scored 10 points in the win.

"I thought we competed for 40 minutes and every player that stepped on the floor was ready to play and contributed," added Jillson. "We had a really balanced scoring attack with four people in double figures. We had 14 second-chance points which was huge down the stretch. The ability to score in the paint and get to the free-throw line really opened up shots on the perimeter that we were able to knock down."

The Pioneers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 13, facing Eastern New Mexico in Portales, N.M. A 6:30 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.