San Antonio, TX– The Western New Mexico University Mustangs geared up to play against the St. Mary's University Rattlers Saturday afternoon, at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, TX. Turnovers would be the deficit for both teams although, the Rattlers were able to pull through the win. 
 
As tip-off hit, the Mustangs came out to play tough. Defense was applying pressure and forcing turnovers. The Mustang offense had great ball movement so plays were running smoothly. Senior Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) hit two three-pointers in the first quarter to help keep the lead over the Rattlers. By the end of the first quarter, Mustangs were up 14-10 and full of energy, As the second quarter rolled around, the Rattlers shut out the Mustangs in a six point run by forcing WNMU to turnover the ball possession. Junior Zyan Smith (Queen Creek, AZ/Mesquite High School ) drew a foul, make the basket and free throw to give the Mustangs an and-one to close the gap between the scores. At halftime, the score was 25-28 as the Mustangs were just short by three points. 

The start of the third quarter exemplified the Mustangs' hunger to win as a tag team of Zyan Smith (Queen Creek, AZ/Mesquite High School ) and Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) lead the team to a six point run. Freshman Bria Reed (Houston, TX/Clear Creek High School) showed great defense with a monster block against the Rattlers' offense and fighting hard in a competitive, even matchup against Rattler's Hannah Wilson. As the third quarter ended, Rattlers lead the Mustangs 36-45. The fourth quarter showed great effort from the Mustangs wanting to win gaining control over the first 4 out of 6 rebounds (defensively and offensively) to begin the quarter. Both teams had many fouls and were in the bonus a majority of the game. Mustangs would have two girls foul out which hurt the offensive plan tremendously. The game's final score sent the Mustangs home with 47 and the Rattlers with their first LSC game win scoring 59.

The Mustangs were missing a few of their veteran starters which did effect the offensive plan for the team. Although, many of the sophomores on the team stepped up to prove their talent. Offense did a great job of finding girls open, however, the team could just not find the rim. Mustangs were also battling up against the leading team in the LSC for the most blocks as the Rattlers had 11 blocks on the afternoon. Fouls were a huge factor for the Mustangs and were not able to execute game plans in a timely manner. The team shot a 20.9% from the field goal range, 18.8% from the three-point line, and 69.6% from the free throw line. 


Mustangs to Highlight:
Zyan Smith (Queen Creek, AZ/Mesquite High School ) - (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block)
Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa HS) - (13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals)
Cyanye Bobbitt - (6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)

WNMU will be back at home against Angelo State University, Thursday February 3rd, with tip-off at 5:30 PM MT. 
 
 
This game recap is presented by First American Bank. First American Bank is a proud supporter of WNMU Athletics!