Game Book (PDF)

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Junior guard Kristin Rydell matched a school record seven three-pointers to finish with a career-high 26 points as Midwestern State also tied a program record with 14 triples to coast to an 81-59 victory over Texas Wesleyan Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
Midwestern State (3-7) went 5-of-10 from behind the arc in the first quarter with three different Mustangs connecting from deep to take an 18-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Following a basket by Texas Wesleyan's (7-4) Ashlie Bruner to begin the second period, the Mustangs put together a 13-2 run in a 2:31 span capped off by a layup by senior forward Jennifer Arbuckle to take a 31-18 advantage with 6:52 to play in the half.
 
The Mustangs stretched their lead to as many as 15 points in the second quarter before claiming a 40-29 advantage into the break.
 
A layup for junior post Avery Queen extended the MSU lead to 16 early in the third quarter before the Lady Rams took advantage of a three-minute scoring drought for the Mustangs to come within nine at 47-38 with 5:07 remaining. Texas Wesleyan came as close as seven points following a pair of free throws from Bruner with just under three minutes to play in the third before a layup for junior forward Micheline Mercelita and back-to-back triples for junior guard Whitney Taylor gave the Maroon and Gold a 58-45 lead heading into the final period.
 
The Lady Rams were unable to cut away at their deficit in the final period with the Mustangs recording a game-best 23 points in the final frame, led by Rydell's 12 points to stretch the lead to as many as 24 before recording the 81-59 victory.

NOTES
- Kristin Rydell's seven three-pointers tied the school record previously set by Trish Young (1/30/92), Heather O'Neal (1/30/99) and Andrea Buben (1/14/09)
- Rydell shot 7-of-11 from behind the arc while going 9-of-16 from the field to lead the Mustangs in scoring for the fourth time this season
- Whitney Taylor matched a career-best five treys, notching double figures for the seventh time on the year with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting including 5-of-9 from long range
- Midwestern State's 14 three-pointers tied the school record set back on Jan. 30, 1999 at Tarleton State
- The Mustangs totaled the most three-pointers inside Ligon Coliseum in program history, surpassing the mark of 13 set on Jan. 15, 2004 against Cameron
- MSU shot a season-best 50 percent (29-of-58) from the field and 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from three-point range
- Leanna James dished out a career-high 11 assists as Midwestern State dished out assists on 27 of 29 made baskets for a season high
- James' 11 helpers tied for the fifth most in school history and were the most by an MSU player since Dianna Jones finished with 11 against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Feb. 21, 2015
- James also led the Mustangs with a career-high four steals
- Jennifer Arbuckle also reached double digits in scoring with 10 points while adding a career-high four assists in addition to three steals
- Anni Scholl came off the bench to lead the Mustangs with six rebounds

STAT OF THE GAME
14 – Midwestern State tied a school record with 14 three-pointers against Texas Wesleyan, the most for the program in 18 years 

UP NEXT 
Midwestern State returns to Lone Star Conference play under the dome next week against West Texas A&M and UT Permian Basin. The Mustangs begin the week versus WT on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before taking on UTPB in a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday.