COMMERCE, TEXAS – With the lengthy holiday break at last drawing to a close, A&M-Commerce Women's Basketball (4-4) returns for the start of Lone Star Conference play with a trip to Wichita Falls to face the Midwestern State Mustangs (10-1 overall, 1-0 in LSC).
After starting the season 4-2, the Lions dropped their remaining two games of 2014. They'll be hoping to bounce back against a tough MSU team who is currently receiving votes in the latest USA Today Coaches' Poll. At 10-1, the Mustangs' sole loss came at the hands of Emporia State, who now sit atop the nation ranked No. 1 overall.
With both teams having similar rebounding numbers (A&M-Commerce has 40.4 RPG, MSU logs 40.3 RPG), coach Jason Burton will need to rely on the services of his pair of senior forwards to take control of the paint. La'Tisha Hearne has won LSC Player of the Week honors both offensively and defensively this season, and averages 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, which are the fifth and fourth highest marks in the conference respectively. Meanwhile, the third most prolific shot-blocker in the conference (1.3 BPG) Abigail Leaupepe-Tele has come on strong as of late with back-to-back double-digit scoring performances while seeing only limited minutes (averaging 17.9 MPG on the year).
Senior guard Ashlee Johnson has been a crucial element of the A&M-Commerce game-plan, logging a conference-leading 34.6 minutes per game. With strong assist and steal totals (3.3 APG; 2.0 SPG) which rank near the top of the conference (fourth and fifth overall respectively), the Lions will look to her to help facilitate the offense alongside freshman Princess Davis. Davis has put up similar assist numbers (3.4 APG) while also cracking the top-10 in conference free throw percentage at 69.2 percent. Junior Gabby Scott will round out the top of the guard rotation for A&M-Commerce. MSU logs the second-worst turnover total in the conference at 19.2 per game, and the Lions will look to use their quick-handed guards to exploit that.
Midwestern State already got their first taste of LSC action on New Years Day in the form of a trip to Denton to face the Texas Woman's Pioneers (7-5). TWU kept things close, but in the final minutes of the game, the Mustangs turned it on and pulled away, winning 61-47. Dianna and Shambreka Jones (no relation) led the scoring for the Mustangs with dual-double-digit scoring performances, while senior guard Shatoia Gober chipped in with nine points, a team-high nine rebounds, and five steals. In addition, S. Jones leads the conference in blocks (2.0 BPG), D. Jones is second in assists (3.5 APG), and senior forward Andrea Carter leads the LSC in rebounds while also coming in at second in steals (10.5 RPG; 2.1 SPG).
The Lions and Mustangs have a lengthy history which spans a whopping 57 games dating back to the 1976-77 season, with MSU holding a commanding 39-18 lead of the all-time series. In recent history, the Mustangs have one seven of their last eight games against the Lions dating back to 2009-10. However, the Lions pulled off a 71-64 win last season in the Field House. The last time A&M-Commerce managed to pick up a win against the Mustangs in Wichita Falls was back on December 17, 2008.
Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, January 3 at 4 p.m. In the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. Fans can tune into 88.9 KETR to follow the action live.
