SAN ANGELO, Texas - The Angelo State women's basketball team started off the new year strong, defeating WNMU 81-68 behind a career night from Madeline Stephens, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds Thursday evening inside the Junell Center.
 
The Rambelles improve to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in Lone Star Conference play, while extending their winning streak to four games. The Mustangs fall to 7-3 overall and 2-3 in conference action.
 
40 Minute Rundown 

• Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant, Sawyer Lloyd, and Madeline Stephens got things started for the Rambelles, scoring the first six points to give the Blue and Gold a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes of the ball game.
• Stephens hit a three with 5:19 left in the first to extend the Rambelles lead to 13, 18-5.
• Landry Morrow made a jumper at the buzzer of the first quarter, giving the Rambelles an 11-point lead, 26-15 going into the second.
• The Mustangs would score 21 points compared to the seven of the Rambelles to take the lead 35-35 of a jumper from Syndey Wright with 1:17 remaining.
• Lloyd would hit one of two free throws with six seconds remaining to tie the game 36-36 going into the half.
•  Both sides battled for the first half of the second quarter, separated by only six off a three-pointer from McGhee-Pleasant.
• A layup from Jade Goynes would bring the deficit to one point with a minute remaining in the quarter.
• McGhee-Pleasant would knock down a pair of free throws to bring the lead to four, 59-55, going into the final quarter of action.
• WNMU would score four points to start the quarter to bring the game to 59-59 with 8:37 remaining in the game.
• The Belles would go on a 10-run with the big four all getting a piece of the action, bringing the lead to 10, 69-59 with 5:11 remaining.
• A layup by McGhee-Pleasant would bring the deficit to 14 for the Mustangs, extending the Rambelles lead to 79-65.
• Alexandra Bednarczyk would get the game's last points off a jumper from the corner to end the game with an 81-68 victory.

 
GAME STATS

• Stephens scored a career-high 26 points on 11-16 shooting and pulled down 10 boards, earning her second double-double of the year.
• McGhee-Pleasant put 18 points and eight rebounds.
• Lloyd found herself all over the scorebook again, with 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals, and one block.
• The Belles would shoot 43 percent (31-71) from the field, 15 percent (3-19) from behind the arc, and 84 percent (16-19) from the charity stripe.
• The Belles would outrebound the Mustangs, 43-39.
• The Belles defense would create 18 turnovers and score 25 points off of them.
• Each team would have 11 steals in the contest.
• The win tonight extends the winning streak to four.

 
NEXT UP
The Rambelles look to extend their winning streak to five as they host Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, with tip scheduled for 1:00 p.m.