UT Permian Basin Women's Basketball continued to win the turnover battle on Saturday, with the defense nearly climbing out of a 13-point hole against West Texas A&M.  The Falcons forced 16 turnovers and held the Lady Buffs below their scoring average in the effort.
 
Alexus Wykoff got the scoring started for the Falcons with a turnaround jumper in the paint. The Falcons ended the quarter on a 10-6 run including scoring five points in the final minute to close the gap.  
 
They carried that momentum into the second quarter as Wykoff made a layup to start things off. The Falcon defense held the Lady Buffs to just 10 points in the second quarter. The Falcons went into the locker room with the momentum after Alexus Popham hit a three with 30 seconds to go in the half. 
 
The Falcon defense once again shined as they allowed 10 points to the Lady Buffs. The Falcons started a 7-2 run in the middle of the quarter keyed by a three-point shot by Morgan Helgesen. Ogechi Nwodo and Avalon Munoz added jump shots to help the run. The Falcons closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to eight.   
 
An 8-2 run to open the fourth cut the Lady Buff lead to just two with Munoz responsible for six points. That's as close as the Falcons would get as they went cold from the field and fell to the Lady Buffs 61-44. 
 
Avalon Munoz led the Falcons with eight points and teammate Nwodo for the team lead with two steals. Nwodo led the team with six rebounds along with adding five points. Holly Hemmeline went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and led the team with three assists. 
 
The Falcons will return to the Falcon Dome against Eastern New Mexico on Thursday. Download the UTPB Athletics App to follow the Falcons all season long.