Silver City, N.M – After a tough 0-2 weekend at home, which saw the Lady Mustangs fall to Texas A&M – Kingsville and Angelo State, the women of Western will hit the road to take on Texas A&M – Commerce and Tarleton State.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT:
 
The Lady Mustangs (6-9, 2-6 LSC) went head to head with Texas A&M – Kingsville in the first game of the weekend, falling 62-64 to the Javelinas.

It was a back and forth battle, with the teams tied at 10 going into the second quarter. Tatyann McFarland put her team on the board first, but the Javelinas would answer with a three-pointer to take the lead. Down by one at the half, the Javelinas narrowly outscored the Mustangs 17-16 in the second. Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) had a big game draining 23 points, going 8-17 and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.
 
Saturday featured Western and Lone Star Conference leader Angelo State. Early on Western led by four on a layup from Ciara Fields (El Paso, TX/El Dorado). After a close matchup through the first quarter, Angelo caught fire and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second. Unable to close the gap, Angelo ran away with a 72-60 victory.
 
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS:
 
The Lions of Texas A&M – Commerce (10-6, 5-3 LSC) come off a 0-2 weekend on the road. Commerce sits fourth in the LSC, and holds a 6-2 record at home.
 
Averaging 76.3 points per game as a team puts them a top the conference standings in scoring offense. The Lions also do it on the defensive end averaging 44.1 rebounds while holding their opponents to 33.9.
 
Sophomore guard, Chania Wright leads her team with 14.3 points per game, shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from three-point range. A major contributor to the Lions defense is sophomore forward, Agang Tac, who averages 7.3 rebounds per game, and 0.8 blocks on the season.
 

HISTORY VERSUS THE LIONS:

Under the direction of fifth year head coach Jason Burton, the Lions finished third in the Lone Star last year with a 18-12 record, 13-7 in the LSC. Defeating every team at least once, the Lions took a decisive 81-40 win over the Mustangs at Commerce. Fast forward to their second meeting, Western took advantage of the home court advantage and forced Commerce to earn a narrow 69-67 win on Drag's Court.
 
Since joining the Lone Star Conference, the Lions hold a 4-0 advantage over the Lady Mustangs.
 
SCOUTING THE TEXANNS:


Tarleton State (11-5, 4-4 LSC) returns to their home court after going 1-1, falling to Eastern New Mexico before defeating ranked West Texas 72-65 in Canyon. Ranked 4^th in the LSC in scoring offense averaging 74.8 points per game, the Texanns currently sit fifth in the LSC, behind Texas A&M – Commerce.
 
Junior forward, Mackenzie Hailey does it all for the TexAnns averaging 15.3 points per game, hitting 53.5 percent from the field, third best field goal percentage and fourth best scoring in the LSC. Her 7.0 rebounds also puts her seventh overall in the LSC, while also averaging 1.1 blocks.
 
Teammates McKinley Bostad and Kaylee Allen back up Hailey, ranking fifth and sixth in scoring each averaging 14.5 points per game.

HISTORY VERSUS THE TEXANNS:
 
In her fifth season at the helm of Tarleton State women's basketball, Misty Wilson has led her team to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. Leading her team to their first 20-win season under her direction last season, the Texanns won both meetings with the Lady Mustangs last season.
 
Leading the all-time series since joining the Lone Star Conference, last year saw Western fall by a score of 70-64, their closest margin in all four games played.
 


SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORE:
 
The 5'7 guard from Tularosa, N.M continues to contribute to the Western offense. Last weekend Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) tallied 36 points, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the foul line. With 11.1 points per game, Vickery comes in 20^th in scoring throughout the LSC.
 
 
Game times are set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday versus Texas A&M – Commerce, followed by a 2 p.m. tip-off on Saturday versus Tarleton State. Both games reflect Central Standard times. Live stats and video stream will be provided by the host institution.