COMMERCE, TEXAS – After a lengthy preseason, the Lions women's basketball team is finally set to hit the road for their first game of the year against the McMurry Warhawks. of Abilene, Texas.
 
A&M-Commerce opted to award former men's assistant coach Jason Burton a crack at a head-coaching role, marking the Austin College alum's first stint as a head coach at the Division II level. In addition to his four years of service as a member of men's coach Sam Walker's program from 2007 to 2010, Burton's also served as a two-year men's assistant coach for Texas State Bobcats from 2011 to 2013.
 
Burton and the rest of his coaching staff will take the helm of a Lions women's squad with fresh new faces to compliment some key returners.  Forward La'Tisha Hearne comes back to A&M-Commerce following a 2013-2014 season in which she played in all 27 of the Lions games, starting in 17 of them. Averaging eight points, six boards, and 1.2 steals in 23 minutes per game, Hearne figures to make impactful contributions for the Lions this winter. Also returning to the Lions roster are seniors Ashlee Johnson and Abigail Leaupepe-Tele, both of whom provided critical bench production on last year's team.
 
Two players generating a lot of buzz for the Lions this preseason are a pair of freshmen, guard Princess Davis and forward Artaejah Gay. Davis comes to Commerce from Shreveport, Louisiana, where she lettered four years as a multi-sport athlete. Gay meanwhile comes from Cedar Hill, Texas, where she averaged a 14-9 with two steals per game at Cedar Hill high school. Both figure to play big minutes in coach Burton's new game plan.
 
Also of note are the incoming batch of transfers, which include former Incarnate Word standout shooter Natalie Hessong and Kiana Evans, a center coming from North Carolina State. Both come to the Lions after setting school-records at their previous institutions. Hessong holds the Incarnate Word school-record for most three-pointers in a game with eight, while Evans holds the North Carolina State school-record for most rebounds in a game with 14. Both figure to make immediate contributions to the Lions on both ends of the court, with Hessong lurking on the wings, and Evans wreacking havoc in the paint.
 
McMurry will look to bounce back from a 2013 season in which they struggled mightily, finishing 3-23 on the year. The Warhawks only return one player from last year's starting lineup, junior center Taylor Russell, who averaged a 3-5 with a respectable 74.4% from the charity stripe. Senior forward Adijatu Disu also returns, having played a reserve role last season. Outside of these two, the McMurry lineup has been totally revamped, making the Warhawks something of an enigma entering the season.
 
Despite Abilene's fairly close proximity to A&M-Commerce, Saturday's season-opener will be only the fourth time in school-history that the Lions and Warhawks have faced off in women's basketball, and the first time since the 1981-1982 season. The Lions control a 2-1 edge all-time.
 
The game is set to tip off on Saturday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m. After that, the Lions season-opening road trip will continue, as they will travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to take on the Henderson State Reddies on Monday, November 17 at 5:30 p.m.