Tarleton wins third straight after defensive tussle with Western New Mexico

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STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton put its third straight mark in the win column Saturday afternoon after holding on to a 66-52 win against Western New Mexico on Alumni Weekend in Wisdom Gym.

The first half was a defensive showcase as neither team was able to find an early rhythm. The Mustangs shot .300 from the floor in the opening half while Tarleton hit on just 9-33 shots from the floor. However, Tarleton was able to force 14 first-half turnovers to build a 26-16 lead at the break.

Out of the break, Tarleton scored six unanswered on two buckets from Katie Webster and one from McKinley Bostad to push its lead out to 16 in the first two minutes.

Western New Mexico got on the board with a three-ball to cut the lead to 13, but Tarleton answered back with four free throws compared to one from the Mustangs to put the TexAnns back up by 16. Tarleton’s lead bounced between 16 and 18 over the rest of the quarter before the TexAnns went into the final frame with a 42-26 edge.

The teams kicked up the offense in the fourth quarter as both teams combined for 50 points in the final frame alone with the Mustangs edging the TexAnns 26-24, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Tarleton’s big lead from the previous three quarters.

For the game, Tarleton held Western New Mexico to just .395 shooting from the floor. Over the first three quarters, however, the TexAnn defense limited the Mustangs to a mere .272 mark. The TexAnns also forced 24 turnover led by seven combined steals from Kaylee Allen (4) and Nina Alvarez (3).

Allen led the scoring for Tarleton with 17 points while McKinley Bostad scored 16 of her own. Mackenzie Hailey cracked double digits with 10 points while Katie Webster led the team with 12 rebounds.

Webster and Winkfield each scored seven points while Alvarez (4), Kylie Collins (3), and Hannah Hyde (2) rounded out the scoring.

Tarleton will return to action next week with a road trip to Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville. The TexAnns will tip-off at the Junell Center at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. in Kingsville next Saturday.

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