Sluggish second half dooms WT

The #7 ranked WTAMU Lady Buff basketball team was on the road Nov. 20 in Durango, Colo., against #12 ranked and national runner-up Fort Lewis. 

The Lady Skyhawks caught fire in the second half to outscore WT 56-30 and eventually hand them a 93-69 loss.  It’s the worst loss for the Lady Buffs since 2004. 

Fort Lewis came out strong early with a 12-4 advantage, which grew to 18-9 with 12:56 left in the first half. 

WT fought back though, thanks to baskets from senior Joni Unruh and freshman Ariel Robertson to bring the Lady Buffs back within one at 20-19 at the 8:24 mark of the first. 

Freshman Casey Land gave WT their first lead of the game with 7:59 left as she made her first three-point basket of her Lady Buff career.  Fort Lewis responded with a 7-0 run to maintain a 28-22 lead with 6:44 left before halftime. 

The Lady Buffs then went on an 8-4 run of their own to make it 32-30.  FLC then got a three-point basket to go up by five, but WT closed out the half with a 9-2 run to take a 39-37 lead into halftime. 

In the second half, both teams traded baskets to keep things even at 48-48.  However, that’s about as good as it would get for the Lady Buffs as FLC went on a 12-0 run to take a 60-48 lead with 13:13 left in regulation.  With 10:02 left in the contest WT got back within 11 at 67-56. 

Fort Lewis eventually put the game away winning decisively 93-69. 

Unruh led the Lady Buffs in scoring with 21 points on the night.  Junior Jamie Simmons collected 17 points to go with eight rebounds.  Land chipped in 10 points on the night. 

The Lady Buffs overall record now stands at 2-1 on the season.  WT will play their home opener Dec. 2 against Cameron University.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the First United Bank Center.