Big second half lifts WT past MSU Women, 73-58

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - The Midwestern State University Mustangs scored the last 12 points of the first half to take its first lead of the game with three seconds remaining in the first half. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the lead lasted just 10 seconds into the second half when Emily Brister nailed a 3-pointer to ignite a 13-0 for No. 17 West Texas A&M as the Lady Buffs were able to 73-58 win over the Mustangs Wednesday night on Stockton Court in Ligon Coliseum. The loss drops MSU to 11-15 on the season and 5-8 in LSC South Division play and now needs help to claim a spot in the LSC postseason tournament, while division-leading West Texas A&M improved to 23-3 and 12-1. The Mustangs are now tied with Texas Woman's, which lost 54-39 Wednesday night at Angelo State , and half-game back of Abilene Christian, which plays host to Texas A&M-Kingsville Thursday night.  Texas Woman's travels to Abilene Christian to close regular season play Saturday afternoon, while MSU plays host to Eastern New Mexico. ACU can claim the last playoff spot by winning out, but are still alive with a loss. If the Wildcats defeat Texas A&M-Kingsville, MSU will need to win and have Texas Woman's upend the Wildcats to force a three-way coin flip for the final playoff spot. If ACU falls to Javalinas, MSU can claim the final playoff spot with a win and a TWU win. In that scenario, the Mustangs and Pioneers will flip for the final spot as each team as been swept by the top three teams in the South, split with ACU and swept the bottom two teams.If the Wildcats beat TWU after falling to TAMUK, they will own the tiebreaker over the Mustangs by virtue of their sweep over TWU.Katherine Maples hit a jumper to start the Mustangs' 12-0 run with 3:33 remaining in the first half, and then Angie Faurot and Kelly Cleavinger canned consecutive treys to pull MSU within 26-23 with 1:27 remaining. Faurot then hit another jumper before Maples beat the halftime buzzer with a layup to give the Mustangs a 27-26 lead over the Lady Buffs. Faurot, who scored 21 points in a win over Texas Woman's on Saturday, hit four 3's on her way to a team-high 18 points. Maples added 14, while Sonya Courtney recorded her first double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds - seven of those came on the offensive end. But Brister and Natalie Wheeler combined for three 3-pointers to help West Texas A&M push the lead to 39-27 three minutes into the second half. Brister paced WT's attack with 24 points and added eight rebounds, while Wheeler added 15 points. Junior post Alicia Saunders narrowly missed a triple-double by scoring 12 points, pulling down 12 boards and blocking nine shots. Point guard Jennifer Brock had six points and 13 assists. The Mustangs close out the season against Eastern New Mexico Saturday night on Stockton Courtundefined in Ligon Coliseum. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.

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