Midwestern State
vs West Texas A&M

Thursday, Jan. 27 – 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series: WT leads 19-56

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State (9-7, 3-3 LSC) looks to rebound Thursday night against West Texas A&M (12-7, 5-0 LSC) at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Lone Star Conference game tips off at 5:30 p.m.

SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS

Since starting conference play on Dec. 31, West Texas won five straight matches against LSC foes. The Lady Buffs are one of three teams that are undefeated in the Lone Star. Texas A&M-Kingsville leads the pack with six wins while Cameron is right behind with five. WT took two big wins in the first full week of 2022. On Jan. 6, the team handed No. 2 Texas A&M-Commerce their first loss of the season with an 82-72 victory. West Texas A&M followed up with a 62-53 win versus UT Tyler. These helped WT retain a seventh rank in the South Central Regional rankings.

The Lady Buffs rank in the top two spots of the LSC in many categories for the season. They are first in the Lone Star with 86 blocked shots, also ranking seventh in the NCAA. WT owns 829 rebounds, which sits first in the conference and third in Division II. They average 43.63 boards each game to rank second in the Lone Star Conference and 17th in DII. West Texas' 16.2 average offensive boards is second for the LSC and 14th in the nation. The Lady Buffs are second in the conference and eighth in the NCAA with 458 total attempted three pointers.

Zamorye Roberts leads West Texas A&M with 14.4 points per game. The junior posted her best scoring performance on Oct. 31 with 24 tallies against Southwestern Oklahoma. She is fifth in the league with 204 field goal attempts while holding a 36 shooting percent. Roberts owns the sixth-highest made three-pointers in the league with 28. She shoots 36 percent from beyond the arc and 64 percent from the line. The guard grabs 3.1 boards per game with eight against No. 6 Central Missouri on Oct. 29. She collected 43 assists and 34 steals throughout the year. The Portales, N.M, product drained eight points and nine assists in WT's match against UT Tyler.

Alivia Lewis is one of the top players for the Lady Buffs. The 6'2" forward leads the team with 8.2 rebounds, which ranks third in the LSC. Her 147 total grabs sits third in the conference and 47th in DII. Lewis averages a league fourth-best 5.7 defensive rebounds per game. She tallied a season-best 15 boards against No. 2 Drury on Oct. 30. Also on the defensive end, the senior is second in the Lone Star and seventh in Division II with 42 blocked shots. Her average of 2.33 stops ranks third and 15th in the conference and NCAA. On the offensive side, Lewis posts 9.1 points for WT with 19 against Drury. She shoots 32 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line. The Los Lunas, N.M., native collected 18 assists and 16 steals.

Karley Motschenbacher leads WT and the Lone Star Conference with almost 600 minutes on the court. The guard earns 9.6 points on average with her best performance against Southern Indiana with 20 tallies. She shoots 40 percent from the floor and 30 percent from range. Motschenbacher drained 32-of-45 from the line. She earned the most assists and steals for West Texas A&M with 46 helpers and 36 takeaways. The freshman's total steals rank fourth in the LSC while her average of 1.89 is 11th. She earned 151 rebounds on the year to sit second in the Lone Star and 39th in the nation. Motschenbacher picked up 13 boards against Texas A&M-Commerce on Jan. 6. Also, she ranks second in the league with 4.1 offensive rebounds. The Moorhead, Minnesota, homegrown tallied a double-double against UT Permian Basin with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Jayla Burgess is the only Lady Buff to start all 19 games on the season. The freshman posts an 8.5 point average and a 5.5 rebound average. She collected 16 points against Mont. St. Billings and posted eight boards in three different games. Burgess leads the team with a 56 shooting percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the arc. She is 26-of-38 from the charity stripe. The forward gathered 25 assists and 22 steals throughout the year. Her 18 total blocks rank sixth in the Lone Star Conference while her average of 0.95 sits 11th. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, product recorded six points and four assists versus UT Permian Basin on Jan. 22.

BLOCK UP

After Midwestern State collected four stops on Sunday afternoon at Texas A&M-Commerce, the team still stands at the top of the ranks with 79 blocks. Through 17 games, MSU is second in the Lone Star Conference and 16th in Division II in total blocks. The 4.9 blocks per game lead the LSC and rank 14th in the NCAA. Yasmine Sifaoui led the Mustangs with two stops against TAMUC on Sunday. The team has at least one block in every game of the season thus far. The best performance was on Dec. 16 versus Texas A&M-Commerce when they picked up ten shot-stoppers.

TOP FIVE

MSU ranks in the top five places of the Lone Star Conference in three total categories. The team holds a fifth place with 67.9 points per game. Midwestern State's highest-scoring output was Jan. 20 at Texas Woman's with 83 points. The Mustangs' 33.1 three-point percentage is also top five in the LSC. Morgan Lenahan is 45 percent from beyond the arc while Sheridan Bostic has a conference fifth-best 31 made three-pointers. The team also forces 19.25 turnovers to place fifth in the Lone Star. Frances King and Lenahan each hold a team-best 29 steals.

MUSTANG STARTING FIVE

Morgan Lenahan is the leading scorer for the Mustangs with a conference sixth-highest 15.3 points. The senior connected on nine points against Texas A&M-Commerce and added nine assists. Her best performance on the scoreboard this year came at UT Permian Basin where she secured 31 points. She continues to shoot 40 percent from the field and 45 percent from distance. Her 203 field goal attempts and 81 makes both rank sixth in the LSC. From the line, the guard earned the Lone Star Conference's fourth-best and NCAA's 62nd percent at 83.8. She owns six boards per game and clinched five blocks. The Haddonfield, N.J, product also contributes 51 assists and 29 steals in 16 starts. She recorded her career-high nine helpers at TAMUC on Sunday.

Frances King averages 12.6 points per game with a career-high 25 points posted against Texas Wesleyan (11/28). Against the Lions, she punched four points and two rebounds. The sophomore recently set the single-game record for assists against St. Mary's on Jan. 8. With her 13 helpers, King overtook Mindy Myers' 1994 record of 13. The guard's 79 total assists lead the league while sitting 17th in Division II. Her average of 4.9 also tops the Lone Star Conference and ranks 27th in the NCAA. King is good for 36 percent from the floor and 18 percent from range. At the line, she holds the second-most attempts (85) and most makes (70) in the LSC. These feats sit 52nd and 32nd in DII. The Rockdale, Texas native boasts 3.5 boards and leads the team with 29 steals. She adds eight blocks through 16 games.

Hannah Reynolds leads Midwestern State in rebounding at 6.3 per game. She grabbed 5 boards and a team-lead 14 points at Texas A&M-Commerce. The senior's 37 total blocks rank third in the Lone Star Conference and 14th for DII. Also taking 13th place in the NCAA is her 2.47 blocked shots average. This sits second in the LSC behind Sammie Dufek of St. Edward's. Reynolds continues her ownership of Midwestern State's all-time leading blocker. She totals 192 career checks and a 1.8 average over 109 games. The forward averages ten points and collected a career-high 24 against St. Mary's on Jan. 8. She shoots about 46 percent from the field and 75 percent from the line.

Shawnisay Millar has started all 16 games for the Mustangs. The junior averaged 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Against TAMUC, she conjured 11 points on four-of-five shooting. On the year, Millar shoots 51 percent from the field and 31 percent from range. She is 28 of 42 from the line. The forward adds 12 assists, 4 steals, and 6 blocks to her stats.

Markayla Johnson rounds out the starting five for MSU. The sophomore sees 4.7 points and 2.9 boards per match. She is a 36 percent shooter from the floor and 25 percent from behind the arc. The guard knocked down 7-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe. The team's defensive guru completed a career-high ten points, draining two from deep. The Huntsville, Texas, native secured 15 assists, 20 steals, and 9 blocks this season.

THE MAN IN CHARGE

Christopher Reay is in his second season at the helm of his alma mater. In the shortened COVID 2020-21 season, Reay guided the Mustangs to an 11-7 record. In his first year at the reins, the Mustangs went 11-5 in Lone Star Conference play. The team finished fifth in the standings and reached the quarterfinals in the postseason tournament. In addition, Reay led MSU to a 4-6 mark over the final 10 games in 2019-20 serving in an interim role following Noel Johnson's leave of absence to continue her fight against ovarian cancer. His career coaching record stands at 24-20 (.545). Reay served as the top assistant for 10 campaigns, guiding MSU to three consecutive NCAA Division II South Central Regionals from 2012-15. In that time, MSU claimed a Lone Star Conference regular and postseason tournament title in 2012-13. Reay competed two seasons at Midwestern State in 2006-07 and 2007-08. After transferring from SMU, he helped MSU to an LSC postseason tournament championship and a regional semifinal appearance in 2007.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Spanning over 45 years, the rivalry between Midwestern State and West Texas A&M stands strong. The two teams played to a 56-19 record with WT on the advantage. MSU is 13-21 when playing in Wichita Falls, which is where they took the last win over the Lady Buffs. Morgan Lenahan tallied 25 points, hitting 10-of-12 from the line in the Jan. 2, 2021, match. Mandy Withey added ten rebounds and 12 points during the 87-80 double-overtime victory. Two days later, WT overtook the Mustangs by 78-60 in Canyon, Texas. Lenahan and Haevyn Risley each posted 12 points while Shawnisay Millar collected 11 tallies. In Lone Star Conference play, MSU is 12-35.

UP NEXT

Midwestern State continues its homestand through Saturday, Jan. 29. D.L. Ligon Coliseum will host the LSC contest and alumni appreciation game against Red River Rival Cameron. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. with full game coverage available online.