CANYON, TEXAS – UT Tyler held the Buffs to just 33.3% shooting from the floor and 38.7% from three but it was not enough to hold off West Texas A&M.
 
A slow start to the contest for both teams saw the first bucket come at the 7:26 mark in the first quarter on a Destini Whitehead made jumper. It took the Buffs 3:28 to find their way on the board after the Patriots forced six misses to begin the game.
 
Each team was held scoreless for two separate runs of over two minutes as both offenses struggled with the strong defenses.
 
The first quarter ended 10-9 in UT Tyler's favor despite the offensive droughts. Both teams combined to shoot 7-for-30 in the period.
 
The Patriots came out firing in the second quarter. Whitehead and Lovisa Hevinder knocked down all three of their combined attempts from beyond the arc and Martina Machalova and Liah Davis each knocked down shots of their own inside the arc. Those four players combined for a perfect 6-for-6 from the field in the quarter.
 
That totalled up to 17 of the team's 18 points in the quarter as they outscored the Buffs 18-13 in that quarter and led by six going into halftime.
 
The third quarter proved to be the catalyst for the Patriots in the contest. The Buffs got hot from the three point line, knocking down six of their 12 attempts. Their first three baskets came by three pointer in the quarter and after a mid-range jumper at the 6:31 mark the lead was erased.
 
Throughout the final five minutes of the period, the Patriots were able to tie the Buffs twice and keep it to just a two possession game going into the fourth quarter.
 
In the final quarter the Patriots were able to get the deficit down to five on two differenct occasions. The first of those came after Davis knocked down a pair of jumpers around the rim and dropped the deficit from nine to five with exactly seven minutes to play.
 
The second time the lead dropped to five was after Davis and Montse Gutierrez knocked down a free throw each with just 4:58 remaining. However that was as close as the Patriots got in the final minutes of the game.
 
Whitehead and Davis each led the Patriots with 11 points. Machalova added in 10 points for her second consecutive game with double digit points.
 
Davis and Lovisa Hevinder led the Patriots with seven rebounds each.
 
The Patriots were able to outscore the Buffs 26-10 in the paint on the contest and knocked down 13-18 free throw attempts in the game.
 
Coming up next for UT Tyler will be a trip back home to the Herrington Patriot Center for a two game homestand. The first game will be on Jan. 13 against Eastern New Mexico. That game is designated as Back to School night and admission is free for anyone 18 and under. Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
The second game of the homestand will be on Jan. 15 against Lubbock Christian. That game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. and is designated as the annual Blue Out game for the Patr