DENTON, Texas (Jan. 8, 2026) – The first game for Texas Woman's basketball at Kitty Magee Arena in 2026 featured an offensive and defensive clinic, with the home team scoring their second highest point total of the season and holding their opponent to single digit points in three of the four periods for the second time this season in an 86-37 win over Sul Ross.

It was raining treys for TWU (12-1, 6-0), as the Pioneers set a new team high with nine three pointers in the game, five of which came in an impressive 19-0 scoring run to begin the game.

SRSU (1-11, 0-6) found some momentum to tally 14 points by the first period's end, but the Lobos could only muster six, eight and nine points in the remaining three periods against the defense of the third-ranked Pioneers – it marked the 12th, 13th and 14th quarters this season TWU has held their opponent to under 10 points in a quarter. 

TWU recorded 33 defensive rebounds in their stout defensive effort, the third time this season with at least 30; and matched their second highest amount of total rebounds with 44. The Pioneers defense also tallied seven blocks and 12 steals, both one away from matching season highs.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Averee Kleinhans led TWU with 21 points in the game, her third in a row with at least 20. Five of her eight three point attempts were made, and both free throw attempts were made for her fifth 100% game from the free throw line. Defensively, the senior led the team in steals with five, setting a new season high.
• Gabby Elliott was the second Pioneer to reach 20 points in the win, scoring exactly as much. Turning in the longest on-court time at 24 minutes, Elliott led the team from the field with eight buckets on 13 attempts, and made 4-of-5 attempts at the free throw line. She also led the team in defensive rebounds with 10, and matched season high marks in assists (4) and steals (3). Elliott finished with 13 total rebounds to record her third straight double-double and sixth of the season. 
• Kaylie Morgan tallied 11 points in the win, one point shy of her season high. The junior was the second of three Pioneers to go 2-for-2 at the free throw line, and contributed a 4-for-6 effort from the field
• Rounding out the double-digit scoring with 10 points tonight was Avery McConnell. The junior shot 50% from the field and tallied a pair of rebounds in the win.

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

• The game began for TWU in dominant fashion with a 19-0 scoring run – their longest of the season at the time. The run began 50 seconds into the game with a Morgan layup, but the highlight of the run was the accuracy from the three-point arc. Six treys were attempted and only one was missed, including a run of four straight. Kayla Glover tacked on a three, and a pair each from Kleinhans and Madi Lumsden rounded out the three-point baskets of the run. Sul Ross broke the run with a basket to make the score 19-2 at the 4:32 mark to settle into more back-and-forth action, but the Pioneer lead never dipped below double digits for the remainder of the game, and the home team would take a 25-14 lead into the second period.
• TWU started the second period strong as well, opening with a 9-0 scoring run. A pair of Elliott free throws gave the Pioneers their first 20-point lead of the game, however a Lobo basket cut into this margin to make the score 34-16 with 7:37 to go. The next six points between both teams came from the free throw line, the last two of these by Jaylee Moss restoring the 20-point lead at 38-18; a margin that the Pioneers would not dip below for the remainder of the game. TWU entered halftime with a 29-point lead, at 49-20.
• The 19-0 scoring run to begin the first period was a new season high for the Pioneers, but it was swiftly topped to open the third with a 20-0 scoring run. The scoring began just ten seconds into the period with a Morgan three, but only one other trey by Kleinhans was added in the rally, as this run mostly consisted of layups and shots from the field. The Lobos responded with a 6-0 run, but it was not nearly enough to counter the damage dealt, as after SRSU's response, the Pioneers were still ahead by 44 at 69-25, eventually taking a 71-28 lead into the final period of play.
• The fourth period did not begin with a Pioneer scoring run however, as a Kleinhans' three was swiftly answered with a Lobo jumper to bring the score to 74-30 with less than a minute gone by. The highest scoring run TWU put together in the final period of play was a 6-0 run ending with under four minutes to play, but by this point the Pioneers had all but put the game to rest with a 52-point margin, eventually winning with a 49-point margin with the 86-47 score.

HEAR FROM KAYLA GLOVER 

Listen to the post game interview with Kayla Glover after the win: https://youtu.be/F1M2QIEcAiY 

NEXT UP

The Pioneers look to remain at the top of the LSC standings, hosting the Western New Mexico Mustangs at KMA for a 1 p.m. tip-off.