THE RUNDOWN
CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M blitzed Midwestern State 26-2 in the third quarter to roll to an 85-54 Lone Star Conference win Saturday afternoon at the First United Bank Center.

MSU junior forward Avery Queen scored the Mustangs' lone points of the third quarter on a jumper from the left elbow at the 7:25 mark of the third. Midwestern would go 8 minutes and 15 seconds without a point before Jennifer Arbuckle hit a pair of free throws 55 seconds into the fourth period.

By then, West Texas A&M stretched the lead out to 36 points by shooting 10-of-14 from the field with four 3-pointers in the third period while limiting MSU to 1-of-10 shooting with seven turnovers.

The run nullified a solid first half for the Mustangs, who shot 54 percent from the field to stay within 43-34 of the hot shooting Buffs, who connected at a 59-percent clip in the opening frame.

West Texas A&M, the top field goal percentage team in NCAA Division II, finished the game at 59.6 percent led by senior guard Allie Decker, who fired in six 3-pointers to finish with 20 points.

WT's starting inside presence of Maddison Wild and Lilley Vander Zee finished with 14 points each.

Arbuckle paced MSU as the lone Mustang in double figures with 14 points and five rebounds.

Midwestern State dropped to 7-15 on the season and 4-12 in league play while the Lady Buffs claimed their sixth straight win to improve to 19-6 and 12-4.

NOTES
- Texas A&M-KIngsville scored a 67-65 upset of Texas A&M-Commerce to regain a 2-game lead over the Mustangs for the eighth and final berth in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament with four games to play.
- Midwestern State matched its low scoring output in a single period for the season. Texas A&M-Kingsville outscored MSU 15-2 on Feb. 2 in Kingsville, but the Mustangs recored for a 46-45 victory.
- Senior forward Jennifer Arbuckle has scored in double figures in five of her last six games. She is averaging 10.7 points during the stretch.
- Junior guard Whitney Taylor matched a season-low with 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting.

STAT OF THE GAME
26-2  — West Texas A&M outscored the Mustangs 26-2 in the third period. Midwestern State shot 1-for-10 from the field and committed seven turnovers as the Lady Buffs broke open a 9-point game at the half.

UP NEXT
Midwestern State plays host to Eastern New Mexico Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.