Selection Sunday for Division I teams may be a few days away, but March Madness has already started for the West Texas A&M women’s basketball team.
The Lady Buffs are heading to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament after pulling off a 58-47 upset win against UT Tyler on Friday afternoon in Denton.
The No. 3-seeded Patriots came into the contest with a 25-4 record, ranked No. 10 in the country. UT Tyler defeated WTAMU 76-57 on Jan. 25 in the only other matchup between the two squads this year.
The No. 6-seeded Lady Buffs were led by a game-high 21 points from Wellington product Kayla Kane, who knocked down six shots from beyond the arc and contributed nine rebounds in the victory.
West Texas A&M managed to secure the win despite shooting 32.1% from the field and 32.3% from beyond the arc as a team.
More: Two WTAMU women’s basketball players stepping into bigger roles ahead of NCAA Tournament
More: West Texas A&M men’s and women’s basketball both secure seeding in NCAA Tournament
More: Dumas powerlifter Hannah Hernandez voted Happy State Bank High School Athlete of the Week
WTAMU’s victory comes in the first round of the South Central Regional. With the win, Josh Prock’s team advances to the second round and will meet either Lubbock Christian or UC Colorado Springs.
The Lady Chaparrals and Lady Buffs defeated the Mountain Lions in the South Central Regional Challenge in November, but UCCS finished its regular season campaign by winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Lubbock Christian defeated West Texas A&M in two regular season matchups before downing the Lady Buffs for a third time in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. WT was without starting point guard Randi Harding in the third game between the two schools, however, and have since seen the junior from Mustang, Oklahoma, return to the lineup.
The Lady Buffs will play again on Saturday at 5 p.m. from Kitty Magee Arena in Denton. If Prock and company can pull out another win against LCU or UCCS, WT will be one game away from reaching the Elite 8.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WTAMU women’s basketball upsets No. 10 UT Tyler in NCAA Tournament
