Box Score

COMMERCE, Texas – A&M-Commerce put together a furious rally in the game's final two minutes, but could not fully climb out of a 13-point hole in the second half in a 65-60 non-conference loss to South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on Monday at The Field House.
 
Breanna Harris finished with a double-double for the Lions (4-17), putting in a team-high 15 points to go along with 15 rebounds – 11 of which, were on the offensive glass. Devin Oliver added 10 points as well, but the Lions were just 21-for-61 (34.4 percent) from the floor for the game, including 4-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc.
 
The Hardrockers (8-15), meanwhile, outscored the Lions 36-20 in the paint and forced 17 turnovers for the night. Devyn Asche led SDSM with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Jessica Shull added 11 points and nine rebounds. Alexis Long had 15 points, including three of the Rockers' five triples for the night.
 
A&M-Commerce trailed by as much as 13 points with 6:36 to play after a 16-4 Rocker run opened up an otherwise nip-and-tuck game. The Lions still trailed by 10 with under 2:30 to go, but found the late strength for a 9-2 run of their own, capped by a mid-range jumper from Aubree Butts to cut the Rocker lead to 62-59 with just 34 seconds to play.
 
The Lions then got a needed defensive stop and had a pair of quality looks at the basket, including a three-point try from Alize Pegue, but neither were able to fall. Meanwhile, SDSM managed to hit three of their final four foul shots to keep the Lions at bay.
 
SDSM held a narrow 28-27 lead at the break behind nine points from Asche, despite getting outrebounded 9-3 on the offensive glass and scoring seven points in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Lions held as much as an eight-point lead in the first half before the Rockers took the lead for the first time at 20-19 on a layup from Renae Walters.
 
Zenobia Winbush had a pair of threes in the opening period, with her second one giving the Lions the lead once again; however, SDSM scored the final six points of the half, including a layup from Megan Rohrer with just six seconds to go in the half, giving the them the halftime lead.
 
The Lions will get back to action on Thursday in Lone Star Conference play on the road when they take on A&M-Kingsville at  6:00 p.m.