COMMERCE, TEXAS – A&M-Commerce women's basketball (1-0) got off to the start they were looking for, and will look to continue riding that momentum on Monday night, when they travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to face the Henderson State Lady Reddies (0-1).
 
HSU enters 2014-2015 coming off of a 13-14 year in 2013-2014. Head coach Jill Thomas' squad turned the Duke Wells Center into a house of horrors for visiting teams, compiling a home record of 9-4, which included an eight-game home-winning streak to begin the year. Though road-victories were difficult to come by for the Lady Reddies, they managed to hand the Lions a 79-74 loss at the Field House in Commerce, Texas. Now, Lions head coach Jason Burton will be tasked with trying to flip the script this season, and pull off the win in Arkadelphia.
 
Of Henderson State's five regular starters last season, only shooting guard Dulincia Keener returns to the rotation. Keener averaged six points, five boards and a steal per game while shooting 43 percent from the field. In their first game, a 68-85 loss to Missouri S&T, the Lady Reddies leaned upon former reserve guard, senior Aungelique Sledge, who finished the night with an 18-7 line to go with her 83 percent free throw percentage (seven of eight). Also providing key contribution for the HSU was freshman guard Haleigh Henson, who scored 16 points on the night. Though Sledge and Henson combined for the precisely half of Henderon State's total scoring, they combined to shoot 6 of 24 from three point range, hardly ideal for coach Thomas' offensive scheme.
 
On the other side of the court, the Lions too return only one starter from last season in senior forward La'Tisha Hearne, who stuffed the stat sheet in the team's opener against McMurry, tallying 17 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Complementing Hearne's efforts was the Lions' potent backcourt-duo of Princess Davis and Ashlee Johnson, who combined for seven steals, nine assists and ten points.
 
Also in the mix for the Lions will be sophomore transfer Natalie Hessong, who made perhaps the biggest shot against McMurry by draining a three with four seconds left in the fourth quarter to set the Lions up for their eventual overtime win. A&M-Commerce will also be looking for another big boost from their bench, which was headlined by senior forward Abigail Leaupepe-Tele in the first game. Leaupepe-Tele gave the Lions 11 points to go with her eight boards, two blocks, and 50 percent shooting from the field.
 
Monday will be the tenth time the Lions and Lady Reddies have gone at it, with their first match dating back to 1993. Henderson State controls the historical advantage, with a 7-2 record against A&M-Commerce. The last time the Lions have managed to prevail against Henderson State was in a game at Arkadelphia during the 2004-2005 season.
 
The contest is scheduled to tip off on Monday, November17 at 5:30 p.m. on the Henderson State campus. After that, the Lions will come home with four days off before kicking off their home opener against Ouachita Baptist in the Field House on Saturday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m.