CANYON, Texas.  A slow start to the game for Western Colorado was too much to overcome on Saturday, resulting in host West Texas A&M University walking away with a 62-51 victory on the final day of the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic.

JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: West Texas A&M def. Western Colorado 62-51
Records: Western Colorado 2-3, West Texas A&M 4-5
Location: First United Bank Center; Canyon, Texas

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountaineers struggled to hold onto the ball in the first quarter as nine turnovers helped West Texas A&M take a 26-13 lead. The Buffs scored 12 points off turnovers in the first.
• Western settled down and got off to a hot start in second quarter action, going on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 26-21. Ky Buell, Anda Kuzmina, Katie Dalton and Natalie Jojola each pitched in with two-points during that run.
• The Mountaineers cut into the lead even more a few minutes later thanks to Grace Kirscher making two jumpers, Jojola draining a three-pointer and Brooklyn Seymour making a jumper. At halftime Western trailed only 33-30.
• Coming out of halftime Western outscored West Texas A&M 12-11, trimming the lead to 44-42 headed into the fourth quarter.
• The Buffs offense got going early in the fourth quarter, while the Mountaineers offense cooled off leading to the Lady Buffs increasing their advantage to 53-42.
• Western continued to fight for the rest of the game. However, they could never get closer than 6 points from tying the game.
• The Mountaineers shot better from the field (35%) than the Buffs (33%), but West Texas A&M stepped to the free throw line more often, making 17-of-25 free throws to Western's 9-of-9.

COURT NOTES

• Kirscher and Jojola led the way for the Mountaineers, each pitching in with 9 points apiece.
• Dalton was grabbing boards left and right, on her way to finishing the game with 12 rebounds.
• The Buffs had four players finish in double figures, three of which were starters.
• Western struggled to cut down on their turnovers, as 22 turnovers in the game led to West Texas A&M scoring 20 points. The Buffs turned the ball over 13 times, leading to the Mountaineers scoring 12 points.
• Both teams had trouble knocking down the 3 ball. Yet, Western did shoot slightly better hitting 27% to West Texas A&M 23%.

UP NEXT
Western will be on the road the next time they take the court, facing off against Black Hills State University on Friday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. Following the conclusion of that game, the Mountaineers will head to Nebraska to take on Chadron State College on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 5:30 p.m.