Commerce, Texas – The Lions head to the state capitol to face St. Edwards Saturday, December 12 in the Recreation and Convocation Center (RCC) at 1 pm.
The Lions look to get to .500 for the fourth time this season after a loss in Claremore, Oklahoma to Rogers State. The Lions had a game low of 49 points in the loss dropping their average to 70 points per game that ranks them fourth in the LSC. A&M-Commerce has been consistent on the glass this season and are first in the conference in offensive rebounding with 15.6 per game and third in defensive rebounding averaging 27.7 per game. Although the Lions are 0-3 on the road this season and does not have the record they desire, the Lions have been doing great things early in the season and have been in every game with their four losses combining to just 11 points. Individually, the Lions have two players in the top five of the LSC in rebounds (
Amari Jones and
Audrisa Harrison), three players in the top 11 in scoring (
Gabby Scott,
Amari Jones,
Princess Davis), and four players in the top 15 in steals (
Shomari Harris,
Princess Davis,
Amari Jones, and
Khala Riley). Scott, Jones, and Davis all average 10 points per game while Jones is the team's leader in rebounds and blocks. Jones, Harris, and Davis are all tied with 12 steals total and Davis leads the team in assists with 25 total, averaging 3.6 per game, which ranks her third in the LSC.
St. Edwards is 2-5 on the season and have loss four straight after falling to Angelo State 85-50 on Saturday, December 5. This season, the Hilltoppers have been unsuccessful against LSC opponents posting an 0-3 record with a scoring margin of -56 points (West Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Kingsville, and Angelo State). Against these LSC programs, St. Edwards averages 54.3 points per game and averages 59.1 points per game overall this season. The Hilltoppers are in the middle of the pack of the Heartland Conference shooting roughly 38 percent from the field out of the ten institutions in the conference. St. Edwards is second in offensive rebounds averaging 16 boards per game but are last on the other side of the court with 20.7 defensive rebounds per contest. Mileka Loydrake leads the Hilltoppers in scoring with 11.5 points per game and 18 total steals in her six total games played but is no longer with the team. Junior Khiani Clark will be called to help pick up the slack as she is the second leading scorer with 11 points per game and leads St. Edwards with 8.1 rebounds per game. Head coach J.J. Riehl is in her fourth season at St. Edwards and has compiled a 49-40 record in that time span.
The Lions and Hilltoppers have squared off three times with the Lions holding a two game advantage. Unfortunately, the last time these two teams met was in the 2013-14 season, where St. Edwards governed the entire matchup and walked out of the RCC with a 95-57 victory. Prior to that game, the Lions won consecutive matchups against St. Edwards. The first was in the historic 1982-83 season that happened to be the first season the Lone Star Conference sponsored woman's basketball. In that season under Susie Knause, formally named East Texas State University beat St. Edwards in the Field House 74-62. The second time these programs met was in the 1988-89 season when the Lions traveled to Austin, Texas for the first time to win 61-55. Saturday, December 12 will be the third consecutive meeting in Austin, Texas between the two institutes.
Fans can follow all the action from the 2015-16 season on www.LionAthletics.com, through twitter @Lion_Athletics and @Lion_WBB as well as on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LionsAthletics.
