CANYON – Despite a 25-point effort from Kathy Thomas, Tarleton State couldn't overcome an early deficit in a 76-63 loss to No. 4 West Texas A&M at the First United Bank Center Wednesday night.
 
Both teams entered the game as contenders for a berth in the NCAA South Central Regional playoffs as the TexAnns are No. 8 in the poll released earlier today while the Lady Buffs are sitting atop the rankings.
 
It took the TexAnns 6:33 to get on the scoreboard as the Lady Buffs opened the game on a 15-0 run, but Meagan O'Dell got the offensive started for Tarleton with a running jumper at the 13:27 mark of the opening half.
 
Over the rest of the first half, Tarleton strung together four straight points on an old-fashioned 3-point play from Karli Moore and a free throw from Kathy Thomas to pull within 13. That was as close as Tarleton would get in the opening half, however, as West Texas A&M took an 18-point lead into halftime at 37-19.
 
In the second half, Bailey Wipff ignited the Tarleton offense with a period-opening 3-ball before Thomas took control with seven straight points to cap off a 10-0 Tarleton run and pull the TexAnns back within eight at 37-29. The closest the score had been since 3:41 into the game.
 
West Texas A&M answered with five straight points to push the lead back to 13 and, despite a valiant fight, Tarleton State could claw no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
 
Thomas' 25-point performance came on a very efficient night from the floor as the senior was 8-14 from the field, including 6-9 from beyond the arc, and 4-6 at the charity stripe. She also had a rebound, an assist and a steal while playing around foul trouble in 26 minutes.
 
Ikpeaku Iwobi just missed a double-double as the sophomore forward scored nine points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Wipff and Karli Moore each tallied eight points while Morgan Ashmore added four and Tiara Tatum added three. Raven McGrath, Averie Mack and O'Dell rounded out the scoring with two points each.
 
As a team, Tarleton shot 40 percent from the floor, 41 percent from downtown and 60 percent at the charity stripe while the Lady Buffs were 57 percent from the floor, 47 percent from beyond the arc and 77 percent at the line.
 
Iwobi's seven offensive boards matched the amount of offensive rebounds of the entire West Texas A&M team as Tarleton won the offensive glass 15-7, which led to a 17-8 advantage in second chance scoring.
 
Tarleton State will return home this weekend to host Eastern New Mexico Saturday evening at 5 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.