SILVER CITY, N.M. – Tarleton women’s basketball picked up win No. 20 on the year with a 60-37 road win over Western New Mexico on Thursday at Drag’s Court.
The TexAnns move to 20-7 overall and 13-6 in the Lone Star Conference. The TexAnns are in a three-way tie with Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M-Commerce for the third spot in the conference standings with one game left in the regular season.
Thursday’s win marks the second straight year the TexAnns have reached the 20-win mark, going 20-12 last season. It’s the 22nd 20-win season in program history – including the sixth in the NCAA era – and second under Wilson. It’s also the first time since 2012 to post back-to-back 20-win campaigns.
Mackenzie Hailey scored a game-high 15 points to go with four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. McKinley Bostad was the only other TexAnn to score in double figures, posting 12 points along with seven rebounds and four assists.
The 37 points allowed by the TexAnn defense was the lowest total of the season, topping the 41 points they held Texas Woman’s to on Jan. 10. The 37 points are tied for the fewest allowed to an NCAA opponent since 2010. Tarleton held the Mustangs to 29 percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers.
The TexAnns led from start to finish, but didn’t start pulling away until the second quarter after only leading 16-13 after one period. The TexAnns limited the Mustangs to single digits in every quarter the rest of the way.
The TexAnns went up by double figures in the second quarter, 27-17, on a pair of free throws from Marissa Escamilla. A layup from Katie Webster in the final seconds of the first half gave the TexAnns a 29-19 lead at the break en route to outscoring the Mustangs 13-6 in the quarter. Webster finished with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
In the second half, the TexAnns came out on an 8-0 run on a pair of buckets from Hailey and a jumper from Bostad for a 37-19 lead.
The TexAnns used a 12-0 run over final six minutes of the game and held the Mustangs to without a field goal for the final 7:23 to take their biggest lead at 23 points.
Kylie Collins had eight points and three assists while Kaylee Allen posted seven points and seven rebounds. Off the bench, Nina Alvarez scored four points with four assists while Lucy Benson, Kandyn Faurie and Marissa Escamilla each had two points.
Tarleton will close out the regular season on the road at UT Permian Basin on Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m.
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