SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Belle basketball team played well against the No. 8 West Texas A&M Buffs, falling 67-50 in the Stephens Arena against a well-rounded team.
 
The Buffs complete the series sweep over Angelo State, improving to a 12-1 overall record and a 11-1 conference record, while the Belles fall to a 1-9 overall and conference record.
 
The Belles quickly grabbed a 5-2 lead over the Buffs, with Madeline Stephens sinking a three while Sadie Misner made a jump shot within the first three and a half minutes. WT quickly took the lead and extended it over Angelo State to six points, but a layup from Stephens brought it down to four, 11-7.
 
Several layups and jumpers from WT brought their lead back up to eight points over the Belles, but a layup and a free throw from Samantha Rocha, plus a free throw from Sawyer Lloyd brought the Belles within five points before time ran out, 16-11.
 
A layup and three pointer from Lloyd brought the Belles within four in the beginning of the second quarter, 20-16, but WT managed to keep the Belles from scoring for almost six minutes, extending their lead to 10 in the process, 26-16. With back to back shots, Rocha knocking down a jumper and Madisen Honea with a fast break three pointer, ASU dropped their deficit to five points, 26-21.
 
WT once again brought their lead to double digits over the Belles, but two free throws made by Stephens ended the first half with the Belles trailing the Buffs by nine, 32-23.
 
Stephens got the Belles started in the second half, making a layup to cut the Buffs lead to seven over Angelo State with 8:55 left in the third quarter, 32-25. The Buffs once again kept the Belles from scoring for most of the quarter and growing their lead to 18 in the meantime, until a layup from freshman Aleesha Orange fired the Belles up and cut the Buffs lead to 16, 43-27.
 
A layup from Stephens, two made free throws from Lloyd, and a last second three pointer from Lana Marov brought the Belles to a 15 point deficit before time ran out in the third quarter, 49-34.
 
Lloyd made a three pointer to kick off the fourth quarter for ASU, with Honea and Lloyd each grabbing a steal to make two fast break layups in the paint to cut the Buffs lead to 12 over ASU, 51-39. The Belles managed to cut their deficit further to 11, but WT extended their lead back to 17 over ASU with 3:46 left in the game, 60-43.
 
Orange and Honea showed their passion and skills, making two layups and a three pointer to cut the Buffs lead down to 12, but WT managed to hold onto their lead long enough into the fourth quarter to defeat the Belles at home, 67-50.
 
Key Players:

• Lloyd and Stephens led the Belles offensively, scoring 13 points apiece, with Lloyd shooting 4-13 from the field, 2-4 from the three point line, and 3-3 from the free throw line. Lloyd grabbed two defensive boards for the Blue and Gold, registering five assists and two steals as well.
• Stephens shot 5-11 from the field, 1-3 from beyond the arch, and 2-2 from the free throw line, whilst grabbing four rebounds, two offensive and defensive each, registering two assists for the night.
• Honea followed closely behind with 10 points, shooting 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the arch. Grabbing one defensive rebounds, Honea also registered four assists and one steal to end the night.

 
Up Next:
The Belles play a split series with the University of Texas Permian Basin Falcons, traveling to Odessa, Texas on Thursday, February 11 for the first game at 5:30 p.m. The Falcons then travel to San Angelo for game two on Saturday, February 6 at 3:30 p.m.