SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Belle basketball team played a scrappy Western New Mexico team at home, and walked away with a victory against the Mustangs, 69-50.
The Belles are now 8- 3 overall and 5-2 in conference.
 
In Case You Missed It:
First Quarter

• Western New Mexico started the first quarter off quickly, jumping to an early 5-0 lead over the Belles. Catara Samuel and De'Anira Moore quickly responded with several made jumpers however, cutting the Mustangs lead to three points, 7-4.
• A three from Sawyer Lloyd and another jump shot from Moore gave ASU their first lead of the night, 9-7. Western New Mexico responded with a made jump shot to tie it back at 9-9, and neither team would score again for almost two and a half minutes.
• Moore put the Belles ahead once again by two, 11-9, but several made shots from the Mustangs brought their lead to six over the Belles, 17-11.
• A three pointer from Megan Guadian and a layup from Angel Hayden cut the Mustangs lead to one to end the first quarter, 17-16.

Second Quarter

• After a made three from the Mustangs brought the score to 20-16, Angelo State took control of the first half of the second quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points and jumping to an eight point lead over the Mustangs, 28-20.
• The Belles and Mustangs traded points back and forth for the rest of the quarter, with WNMU not letting the Belles expand their lead past eight points, as several Mustangs would score points to cut the Blue and Golds lead down to six points several times.
• Two made free throws and a three pointer from Western New Mexico cut the Belles lead down to just three points to end the first half, 33-30.

Third Quarter

• The Belles caught their second wind in the third quarter. A layup from Samuel and Moore each, along with a free throw from Moore, brought the Belles to an early eight point lead in the first minute and a half.
• The Belles defensively held the Mustangs to only scoring four points the entire quarter, while offensively the Belles made 22 points. Moore and Samuel contributed most of the 22 points in the third quarter, with Moore scoring 12 points and Samuel scoring eight points.

Fourth Quarter

• A three pointer from Samantha Rocha started off the fourth quarter off well for the Belles, bringing their lead to 24 points, the highest of the night, 58-34.
• Defensively, the Mustangs held the Belles to those three points for the next three minutes and twenty four seconds, cutting the Belles lead down to 16 in that time, 58-42.
• A made free throw and three pointer from the Mustangs cut the Belles lead down to 13, but several made free throws from Moore and Samuel brought the Belles lead to 14, 62-48.
• The Mustangs attempted a valiant comeback, but the scoring capabilities of Moore, Guadian, and Samuel proved too much for Western New Mexico, as the Belles defeated the Mustangs, 69-50.

 
Key Players:

• De'Anira Moore was no doubt the MVP for the Belles against the Mustangs, scoring 27 points for the Belles, a new career record for her, the previous being 24 points in the 2018-2019 season. Moore shot 8-12 from the field and 11-13 from the free throw line. Moore registered seven total rebounds, three on offense and four on defense, as well as two assists and two blocks.
• Catara Samuel was a monster on offense as she scored 18 points for Angelo State, shooting 7-16 from the field and 4-6 from the free throw line. Samuel also registered seven total rebounds, four on offense and three on defense, as well as two assists and seven steals.
• Sawyer Lloyd was one of ASU's more versatile players of the night, shooting 3-9 from the field and 2-5 from the free throw line, scoring nine points for the Belles. Lloyd registered six rebounds for the Belles, two on offense and four on defense, as well as two assists and two steals.

Up Next:
The Belles take to the road as Angelo State travels to Lubbock to face off against the defending national D2 champions, Lubbock Christian on Saturday, January 11. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.