West Texas A&M guard Lexy Hightower pushes the ball up floor againsst Texas Woman’s during an Lone Star Conference game Tuesday at the First United Bank Center. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
Editors note: This is a weekly recap for all West Texas A&M spring sports.
The Lady Buffs keep on winning
The West Texas A&M Lady Buffs extended their winning streak to 12 straight games thanks to a two-day sweep of Texas Woman’s in a Lone Star Conference matchup Monday and Tuesday at the First United Bank Center.
The No. 5-ranked Lady Buffs took Monday’s matchup by a convincing 79-44 margin, followed by a much closer 52-44 victory Tuesday.
WT improves to 14-1 overall and 13-1 in the LSC.
Freshman Jillian Sowell led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs in Monday’s win posting a career-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Senior guard Lexy Hightower led all scorers Tuesday with 16.
WT prepares to open up an important road trip in Lawton, Okla., for LSC crossover action against the Cameron Aggies (7-5) on Friday and Saturday.
West Texas A&M guard JoJo Murray tallied a combined 50 points during wins against Western New Mexico and Oklahoma Christian. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
Buffs stay hot with pair of wins
It was a difficult week for the West Texas A&M men’s basketball team. For the fifth time this season the No. 5-ranked Buffs had a
series postponed due to COVID-19 protocols, that’s a total of 10 games.
The Buffs were supposed to travel to Midwestern State for a key Lone Star Conference series on Thursday and Saturday, however, the Mustangs were forced to postpone the matchups.
WT was still able to play two games this week despite the frustration. Head coach Tom Brown’s team downed Western New Mexico, 98-80, on Monday, then blew past Oklahoma Christian 75-51 in a nonconference contest Saturday.
The Buffs are now 9-1 overall and 7-1 in the LSC, pushing their win streak to six straight games. It was quite the week for WT guard JoJo Murray. The junior torched WNM for a game-high 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and 8-of-9 at the charity stripe. Murray then ignited a huge second half against Oklahoma Christian scoring a game-high 24 points and added a team-best five assists. The junior also had one steal as he passed David Chavlovich to become the program’s all-time leader in steals with 157.
West Texas A&M long distance runner and Amarillo High graduate Butare Rugenerwa broke a Lone Star Conference in the 800-meter run at the Texas Tech shootout in Lubbock on Friday.
Rugenerwa makes LSC history
West Texas A&M and Amarillo High graduate Butare Rugenerwa had a historic Friday afternoon at the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock. Rugenerwa broke the 800-meter school and Lone Star Conference record blazing a time of 1:48.48.
Regenerwa also broke Luis Romero’s LSC record of 1:48.75, becoming the fifth fastest performer in NCAA Division II history.
On the girls side, Florance Uwajeneza continued her dominance on the track as the she won the 3,000-meters on Saturday afternoon at the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock with the second-fastest time in program history.
The junior crossed the finish line in 9:43.13 to win the event for a second time.
The No. 4-ranked men and women’s teams will compete in the Lone Star Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday in Lubbock.
West Texas A&M senior Loukee Songprasert won the Jack Brown Memorial Tournament in Laredo on Tuesday. [Provided photo]
Songprasert wins Jack Brown Memorial
West Texas A&M senior standout Loukyee Songprasert won her fourth career tournament on Tuesday as the Lady Buffs finished second as team at the Jack Brown Memorial hosted by Texas A&M International at the Laredo Country Club.
The Lady Buffs shot a final round 32-over (320) to finish at 72-over, one stroke behind Texas A&M-Commerce and 19 strokes ahead of St. Mary’s.
The three-time All-American becomes the third Lady Buff in program history to win four or more medalist honors joining Glory Jangthongsiri and head coach Meredith Jameson.
Sonprasert shot a 5-over 77 in third round to finish at finish 7-over par for the tournament.
For her tremendous effort, Songrasert was named Lone Star Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week.
The Lady Buffs return to the course on March 1-2 at the St. Mary’s Rattler Invitational in San Antonio.
West Texas A&M pitcher Mathieu Gauthier delivers a pitch against Eastern New Mexico in a Lone Star Conference game at Wilder Park on Thursday. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
No. 22 Buffs take two from ENMU
The cold weather didn’t cool off the West Texas A&M bats as the Buffs blasted Eastern New Mexico with a pair of run-rule wins to open Lone Star Conference play Thursday at Wilder Park in Canyon.
WT won the first game 13-3 in seven-innings, followed by another 17-2 lopsided victory in the night cap.
The series finale scheduled for Friday afternoon was postponed due to cold temperatures in the Texas Panhandle.
The No. 22-ranked Buffs (5-1, 2-0) combined for 30 runs in the sweep, totaling 23 hits. WT also saw tremendous pitching from Carter Brown and Mathieu Gauthier. Brown (1-0) worked 4.2 scoreless innings of relief with six strikeouts in the first game to earn his first win of the year. Gauthier was equally impressive in the later contest, going five strong innings without allowing a run, racking up 10 K’s.
At the plate, Eric Ortiz delivered his first home run on a 3-run shot in the opener. Kennedy Bagdett was 1-for-2 with three RBIs in the late game.
WT opens a three-game series at Cameron on Friday in Lawton, Okla.
West Texas A&M junior middle blocker Kayla Elliott serves during the Lady Buffs match against UT Permian Basin on Wednesday at the WTAMU Fieldhouse. [Trevor Fleeman/ Press Pass Sports]
WT volleyball sweeps UTPB
West Texas A&M bounced back with a sweep of UT Permian Basin on Tuesday and Wednesday The WTAMU Fieldhouse in Canyon.
The Lady Buffs won Tuesday’s match 25-19, 25-23, 25-15, then followed that performance with another sweep Wednesday, 25-18, 26-24, 25-19.
Sophomore Torrey Miller powered the Lady Buff Volleyball offense past UTPB totaling a combined 32 kills in the series. During Wednesday’s win, Miller knocked down 16 kills on 37 swings for a hitting percentage of .297.
Senior captain and Hereford graduate Chandler Vogel led the way in the back row with 37 digs in both wins.
WT (3-3 overall) open a two-game series against Lubbock Christian at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Canyon.