CANYON, Texas (Jan. 25, 2024) – For the first time since 1981, the Texas Woman's basketball team leaves Canyon, Texas with a win.

TWU (16-3, 10-1) secured their first win against West Texas A&M (10-9, 5-6) in Canyon, Texas since Jan. 14, 1981, when West Texas A&M was known as West Texas State.

The Pioneers battled a slow start, before igniting a blaze in the second quarter to secure the 11-point win, 69-58, on Thursday night and hand the Lady Buffs their ninth loss of the season and sixth in Lone Star Conference play.

In a back-and-forth contest, where the lead was tied four times and changed six times. The Pioneers forced the Lady Buffs to turn the ball over 15 times and scored 19 points off those turnovers, taking huge advantage of their defensive pressure. On the other side, TWU turned the ball over 20 times, their second most in a game this season, but they excelled in their response on Thursday night, hustling back on defense to only allow WT to score just 10 points off those turnovers.

TWU dominated on the boards tonight, which aided in the win. The Pioneers grabbed 45 rebounds to WT's 32 rebounds. Of their 45 rebounds, 13 of those were on the offensive end, as TWU scored 11 second chance points.

From the free throw line, the Pioneers, who ranked 16th coming into this game in free throw attempts per game (22.68 per game), took 17 free throws on the night and hit 14 of them, as they shot 82.4% from the charity stripe – their sixth game this season shooting 80% or higher from the free throw line.

TWU defended the Lady Buffs well on Thursday night, as WT only went to the free throw line seven times for just five points.

On the offensive side of the court, three Pioneers scored in double digits. Ashley Ingram led the way with 19 points on 50% from the field. She also added four assists and 12 rebounds to record her 10th double-double of the season and second straight. Leila Patel and Scout Huffman joined Ingram in double figures, both finishing the game with 14 points. To her 14 points, Patel added one steal, two assists and three offensive boards for a complete stat line. Huffman went 7-10 from the field on her way to 14 points and added a season high nine rebounds to help guide the Pioneers to the win.

Jada Celsur also boasted a well-rounded stat line for TWU. She finished with five points, four steals, one block, two assists and eight rebounds. The eight rebounds marked a season high for Celsur and the four steals marked a career high.

Also dominating the boards and the passing game for the Pioneers was Averee Kleinhans, who finished the night with eight points, a season high five assists and five rebounds.

In the first quarter, the Pioneers opened with a 4-0 run. Despite the 4-0 start to the game, TWU ended the first quarter with a three-minute scoring drought to head into the second quarter trailing by five, 15-10.

Ingram quickly got TWU back on track in the second quarter with a jump shot to cut into the Lady Buffs' lead, 15-12. The Pioneers would draw within one point three times during the quarter, while also doing a good job of limiting the scoring of the Lady Buffs, holding them to just 10 points, as WT shot just 26.67% from the field in the second quarter.

After a made jump shot with 34 seconds remaining in the half from Patel, the Pioneers went into halftime trailing by just one point, 25-24.

The second half was all TWU, as they revitalized their offense to go on a scoring frenzy in the third quarter with 26 points.

Just as she ended the first half, Patel ignited the scoring for TWU in the third quarter, as she opened with a made three pointer just 30 seconds into the second half to give the Pioneers the lead for the first time since the first quarter, 27-25.

After falling behind by one, Caroline Glud Rasmussen, who got her first starting nod of the season, connected on a triple to put the Pioneers back up by two, 30-28, with 7:32 remaining in the third.

The scoring would go back-and-forth for much of the third quarter, before Patel hit another three at the three minute mark to ignite a 7-0 run for the Pioneers over the remaining minute.

TWU would lead by as much as nine in the third, and they would head into the fourth and final quarter up by seven, 50-43.

TWU would never trail in the fourth, as they scored 19 points in the final 10 minutes. With one second remaining on the clock, Gionna Carr connected on a layup to give the Pioneers their largest lead of the night and put the bow on the win in Canyon, 69-58.

"I am very proud of how we kept our composure and stayed poised throughout a very physical game," TWU Head Coach Beth Jillson said. "Down the stretch, different players stepped in and had big moments on offense and defense. We were led on offense by Ashley throughout the game, and she played huge minutes and navigated the double teams and physical plays with incredible poise, courage and energy. Despite our slow start, I am proud of how our team connected and reignited in the second half. We are excited for another great opportunity on Saturday against Lubbock Christian."

The Pioneers will meet Lubbock Christian in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.