THE RUNDOWN
SILVER CITY, N.M. – Midwestern State was held scoreless for the final 2:49 in a 69-67 loss to Western New Mexico on Thursday at Drag's Court. The Mustangs slide to 8-14 overall and 5-10 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
WNMU was led by Ciara Fields with a game-high 22 points, going 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Cassandra Vickery added 15 while Tatyanna McFarland and Destiney Johnson had 12 and 10 points, respectively. The quartet combined for 59 of the team's 69 points.
 
Juniors Mica Schneider and Liz Cathcart led the Maroon and Gold with 12 points. Schneider hit four 3-pointers while Cathcart matched the team-lead with five rebounds.
 
Senior Chelcie Kizart tacked on 11 points for her 12^th game in double figures.
 
Sophomore Hannah Reynolds produced 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks, passing Dorcas Perkins for third all-time on the single-season list. The Prosper native needs five blocks to match Shambreka Jones' single-season record of 58.
 
WNMU took the lead for good on a Fields 3-pointer with 7:20 to play before Vickery buried another trey to bolster the Mustangs lead to 63-57.
 
After another 3-pointer from Sara Lopez extended the advantage to five with 4:18 to play, MSU Texas pulled within two on a pair of free throws from Cathcart and freshman Haevyn Risley, 66-64.
 
Following a layup from Johnson, junior Courtney Kerr drained a trey with 2:49 to go to pull the Mustangs within one, 68-67.
 
Missed opportunities down the stretch haunted the Maroon and Gold. Junior Annette Dukes missed both free throws down one with 2:02 to play. After forcing a travelling call against Lopez on the ensuing possession, MSU Texas turned the ball back over to WNMU at the 1:23 mark.
 
McFarland earned a trip to the free throw line where she missed the first and made the second to finalize the scoring line, 69-67.
 
Reynolds missed a turnaround jumper with 46 seconds remaining before Risley tied up the ball following a rebound by WNMU.
 
Kizart lifted an erratic runner toward the rim with 35 seconds to play. MSU Texas locked down the Mustangs defensively on the following possession, preventing WNMU from getting a shot off.
 
Inbounding in front of its bench with six seconds left, Reynolds' floater bounced off the back iron at the buzzer and bounced out, cementing the Mustangs fate.
 
GAME NOTES
- Midwestern State suffered its first loss to Western New Mexico since WNMU joined the LSC and first setback to the Mustangs since Feb. 28, 1996
- MSU Texas drops to 10-3 all-time against WNMU and 4-2 in Silver City
- The Maroon and Gold drops to 1-11 away from D.L. Ligon Coliseum and 1-10 in true road games this season
- The Mustangs featured four players in double figures, led by juniors Mica Schneider and Liz Cathcart with 12
- Sophomore Hannah Reynolds climbed to third on the MSU Texas single-season charts with a three-block effort for her 53^rd rejection of the season
- Reynolds is five blocks away from matching Shambreka Jones' single-season record of 58
 
UP NEXT
MSU Texas returns to action on Sat., Feb. 16 at UT Permian Basin.