STEPHENVILLE – Morgan Ashmore and Bailey Wipff combined for 35 points, including 21 in the second half, to lead Tarleton back from a nine-point, halftime deficit and a 64-59 win over Oklahoma Baptist at Wisdom Gym Monday night.
 
For Ashmore, the 19-point scoring effort is the best of her four-year career and tops her previous career high of 11 points against Incarnate Word on February 16, 2013. The senior from Spearman was 7-7 from the floor, including 3-3 from downtown and 2-2 at the charity stripe, to go along with three assists and two rebounds.
 
"Morgan had a great night, but – even more impressive than the numbers – was how she handled herself as a leader on the court," said head coach Misty Wilson. "She took smart shots, made good decisions with the ball, and that's what you expect from a senior leader. There's no doubt she has the talent to this every night, but tonight she put her talent to work in an all-around great performance."
 
For Wipff, it was the 11^th double-figure scoring game of her career to go along with four rebounds.
 
Despite taking an early lead, Tarleton struggled in all aspects of the game for the opening 20 minutes and went into halftime trailing the Lady Bison 23-31. The TexAnns shot 24 percent from the field in the opening half, including just 1-10 from beyond the arc.
 
Out of the break, Wipff connected on back-to-back triples to start an 18-1 Tarleton run – which was capped off by an Ashmore three-pointer – to put the TexAnns on top 41-33 at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter. The Lady Bison clawed back to tie the game at 41-41, but Tarleton ended its dominating third quarter on a 9-2 surge to head into the fourth quarter with a 50-43 advantage.
 
In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma Baptist pulled within a basket with five minutes to play but Wipff and Ashmore answered with the next seven Tarleton points to keep the TexAnn lead at four in the final three minutes. Tarleton added a layup by Breanna Fuller and four straight free throws to ice the game from Raven McGrath.
 
In the second half alone, Tarleton shot 50 percent from the floor and 60 percent from downtown while grabbing 25 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists as a team.
 
Behind the 19 by Ashmore and 16 from Wipff, Tarleton got 18 combined points from McGrath, Ikpeaku Iwobi and Travanti Downes to round out the starting five. The TexAnns got 11 points off the bench from Meagan O'Dell (5), Fuller (2), Averie Mack (2), and Nia Jackson (2). Iwobi added a team-high nine rebounds while Wipff had a team-high four steals.
 
Tarleton (5-3, 0-0) will hit the road this weekend for its first taste of action in Las Vegas when the TexAnns compete in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, beginning Friday at 5:30 p.m. CST against Stonehill.