The WTAMU Women’s Basketball team traveled to Commerce on Feb. 15 to attempt to extend their winning streak to six in a row.
The Lady Buffs started out strong, grabbing a 4-2 lead but after a few mistakes, lost the lead when the Lions went on a 9-0 run to lead 11-4 with a little over 14 minutes left in the half.
WT spent a large chunk of the first half playing catch up, finally tying the game with 7:15 left on the clock. WT took back the lead with six minutes left before going on a 12-0 lead to take a large lead over the Lions. However, as the half drew to a close, A&M-Commerce would gain back some momentum, pulling the team within four going into the locker room with a 33-29 WT lead.
Ashley Leven extended WT’s lead only seconds into the second half, putting four points on the board in less than 20 seconds to advance the score to 37-29. A&M-C was held scoreless until the 17:24 mark, but the team only scored two more times in the first half of the period. The Lions’ dry spell allowed WT to increase its lead to 56-34 after a 13-0 run.
The Lady Buffs kept a 20-point lead for most of the half, but the Lions would close the gap in the final minutes, ending the game with a 17-point difference. In the end, the scoreboard showed a score of 78-61 in favor of the Lady Buffs
Kenisha Harris would be atop the leader board in multiple categories when the clock ran out. Harris led the team with 15 points and 10 rebounds in addition to four assists and three steals. WT shot 46.2 percent from the field and converted 67.5 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe.
“I thought we struggled the first half but we fought through it and then came out at halftime and owned it,” Sophomore Lacee Logan said.
WT’s season record went to 15-8 and 13-4 in the LSC with the win. The team sits third in the LSC behind Midwestern State. The Lady Buffs have secured a playoff spot but will be more focused on their next few games rather than the upcoming playoffs.
“We just take it one game at a time, right now our focus is on Tarelton. We’re just going to knock one off at a time,” Logan said.
The Lady Buffs will face one of their toughest opponents in their next out as they take on LSC-leading Tarleton State at the First United Bank Center at 4 p.m. on Feb. 18.
