SAN ANGELO, Texas – At the conclusion of a classic rivalry bout in round one of the South Central Regional, the Angelo State women's basketball team downed West Texas A&M 70-65 Friday evening, setting up another LSC clash in round two with UT Tyler slated for a 7:30 tip on Saturday, Mar. 11^th at the Junell Center/Stephens Arena.
 
40 MINUTE RUNDOWN

• The big three, Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Sawyer Lloyd, and Madeline Stephens each scored to open up the game as the Rambelles jumped ahead 7-4 early.
• West Texas A&M would tie things up at nine before Keniah Williams capped off four straight points to put the Rambelles back up two with 2:12 to go in the first.
• Williams and Aicha Ndir each scored down the stretch as the Rambelles took a four-point, 15-11 lead into quarter number two.
• Stephens and Ndir would combine to score seven as the Rambelles jumped ahead by nine, 22-13 with 5:48 before the break.
• Landry Morrow scored off a Lady Buffs turnover as the Blue and Gold stretched the lead to 10, 28-18 with 3:20 left in the second.
• The Lady Buffs would answer with five straight to end the quarter, Rambelles leading at the half, 30-26.
• WT would continue their surge to begin the third, stealing the lead, 36-34 at the 6:45 mark.
• The teams traded the lead four times down the stretch as the visitors took a one-point advantage, 45-44, into the final frame.
• A second chance layup by McGhee-Pleasant pushed the Rambelles ahead by six, 52-46 with 7:30 remaining in the contest.
• The Rambelles lead grew to nine before four straight free throws by the Lady Buffs brought them back within five at the 4:27 mark.
• A Stephens jumper put the hosts back up nine, 63-54 with just over two minutes remaining.
• The Lady Buffs attempts to get back into the game were thwarted by late free throw makes by McGhee-Pleasant, Lloyd, and Morrow and the Rambelles came away victorious 70-65.

 
GAME STATS

• Lloyd's first triple-double of her career highlighted the stats in the first round as the junior finished with 16 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, and five steals.
• Postseason Stephens was once again on the court as she finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
• Williams scored 12 big points off the bench after going 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line in just 14 minutes.
• Morrow had nine points, four rebounds, and four assists as she played all 40 minutes in the first round.
• Both Ndir and McGhee-Pleasant finished with eight points on the evening to round out the Rambelles scorers.
• The Rambelles avenge yet another conference loss and win the season series over West Texas A&M with the victory.
• This marks the first victory in the NCAA DII Tournament since the 2018-19 season where the Rambelles made the South Central Regional final.

 
NEXT UP

• The Rambelles face a quick turnaround, facing the fifth seeded UT Tyler Patriots tomorrow with another 7:30 tip from the Junell Center/Stephens Arena.
• The Patriots upset the four seed Colorado School of Mines in the first round, downing the Orediggers 73-63.
• Meagan Mendazona led the way for UTT with 23 points and eight rebounds. Lovisa Hevinder was also a force with 19 points and eight boards.
• The Rambelles downed the Patriots in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference tournament last Saturday to even the season series at one a piece.
• On the flip side of the bracket, the upsets were contagious as the six seed Black Hills State and the seven seed Lubbock Christian each advanced to round two.