LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Cowgirls fought back from an early seven-point deficit to lead by as much as four, but the Lady Buffs hit a pair of threes right before the half to take the lead and never look back as New Mexico Highlands (0-1) lost to #1 West Texas A&M (1-1) 84-73 Tuesday night in the Cowgirls season and home opener Wednesday night (Nov. 19).
West Texas A&M used a 36-29 edge on the boards and a 40-12 advantage in points in the paint for the 11-point win. However, Highlands responded by making 9-22 (40.9 percent) shots from beyond the arc.
The Lady Buffs raced out to a 19-12 lead seven minutes into the game, but a 9-1 run gave Highlands the lead. Junior
Brittany Brown – who came off the bench and hit all four threes show to finish with 12 points – hit a triple to begin the run. West Texas A&M split from the line, but a jumper by seniors
Jenny Johnson and
Claudia Meneses cut the deficit to one. Johnson followed with a pair from the line to give Highlands its first lead of the 2014-15 season at the 9:20 mark of the first half.
With the Cowgirls up 31-30, senior
Katie Gannon hit a pair from the free throw line and sophomore
Jacinda Woodruff split to put Highlands in the lead by four, its largest lead of the game. Leading 40-36, the Lady Buffs' Danielle Logan hit back-to-back triples in consecutive offensive possessions to give the visitors a 42-40 lead would not that they would not relinquish.
Johnson led the Cowgirls with 18 points and four assists while Meneses added 13. Sophomore
Giulia Simioni added 10 while Brown led the team with five rebounds. Chontiquah White led the Lady Buffs with a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Ariel Robertson had 16 points. Madison McLain had eight points and a game high six assists.
A key moment came with the visitors up 58-56 with 10:08 left in the game. Redshirt freshman
Michelle Tapia drove in on a fastbreak and made the layup. However, she was whistled for a charge to wave off the score. Senior
Emma Hart committed a shooting foul to send the game to a media timeout and the Lady Buffs responded with a 15-0 run to build a 17-point advantage. Sasha Watson split from the line while White hit a pair. Robertson wrapped a pair of jumpers around a few more free throws from White.
Robertson added a fastbreak layup and then another layup to cap the spurt and put West Texas A&M up 73-56 with 5:58 to play. Brown hit a triple for Highlands with 5:42 left, the first Highlands field goal in nearly eight minutes – also a Brown three.
The Cowgirls climbed no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Highlands returns to action Saturday (Nov. 22) at Texas-Permian Basin. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
