STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- Midwestern State added another banner win to its annals Saturday night taking a 71-63 win over Tarleton State at Wisdom Gym.
 
It was the Mustangs' first victory in Stephenville since 2003 ending a seven-game drought. MSU also clinched its first 20-win season since 2003 while cinching no worse than the No. 2 seed in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament in two weeks in Allen.
 
And they did it with a very convincing second-half effort clubbing Tarleton 47-31 to overcome a 13-point deficit right before halftime.
 
"I'm proud of how these kids responded out of halftime," MSU coach Noel Johnson said. "We're becoming a second half team and that starts with our defense. They weren't able to get into their offense and that's what we wanted to do."
 
That might have started with a simple text message from the team's lone senior earlier in the week.
 
"I texted Coach J asking her to let me guard (Peyton Adamson)," MSU guard Ashley Rush said. "I didn't want Kirsti (Degelia) to use her legs on her. That way I could focus on just my defense on her."
 
Rush displayed a badge of honor after catching an elbow from Tarleton's first-team All-Lone Star Conference performer during the first half, but the two would get reacquainted after Shatoia Gober picked up a quick pair of fouls and head to the bench in the first few minutes of the second half.
 
Rush put the lid on Adamson's production holding her to just five points allowing the Mustangs to turn that 13-point first half deficit into a 65-56 edge before Adamson tallied the TexAnns final seven points. But the game was decided by that time.
 
Junior guard Kirsti Degelia led an aggressive attack scoring 15 of her team-high 18 points in the second half while Dianna Jones joined Rush with seven points each after intermission.
 
"Our game was to take them off of the bounce and we were able to take it to them in the second half," Johnson said. "Obviously, our goal was to score and to attack their bigs and cause some foul trouble."
 
It was a success on accounts as Brianna Bledsoe, Cheyenne Berry and Erin Sims all fouled out for the TexAnns while senior standout Kiara Wright was hampered with her fourth foul midway through the second half.
 
That allowed MSU sophomore Andrea Carter to dominate the paint finishing with her 14th double double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
 
"She's a gamer and she understands how to get it done," Johnson said. "We told her to not X-out and just to take it to them. She responded very well."
 
The Mustangs, who hit 21-of-22 free throws in the second half, went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe during a 12-0 run surging to a 53-46 on Carter's jumper in the lane with 7:40 to play.
 
Jones finished with nine points and five rebounds while Rush posted nine points and three boards.
 
Adamson finished with 21 points to lead the TexAnns who took their second-straight loss to fall to 17-7 and 13-5 in league play.
 
The Mustangs improved to 20-5 and 15-4 and close the regular season Wednesday night against Texas Woman's. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.