In the last game before the new year, the Lions loss to the Ladyjacks in an exhibition match in Nacogdoches, Texas.

TEAM LEADERS
A&M-Commerce
Points: Two players tied with ten points each
Rebounds: Shomari Harris, 7
Assists: Five players tied with two assists each
Steals: Two players tied with two steals each
Blocks: Three players tied with one block each

Stephen F. Austin
Points: Brentney Branch, 18
Rebounds: Stevi Parker, 8
Assists: Taylor Schippers, 4
Steals: Stevi Parker, 3
Blocks: Two players tied with one block each
 
1st Half
The Lions came off of a seven day break ready to play, trading baskets with the Ladyjacks for the first six and a half minutes of the opening quarter. The Lions shot 45 percent from the floor while the Ladyjacks shot 5-of-20 in the quarter. Stephen F. Austin managed to keep a slight edge over the Lions however, by shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.  After one quarter of play, the Lions trailed Stephen F. Austin 16-14.
 
After a quick steal by Shomari Harris, and layup by Princess Davis to tie the game at 16, Stephen F. Austin went on a 7-0 run led by Brentney Branch who had back-to-back buckets. The run extended to 11-3, and the Lions found themselves down 29-19 at the media break of the second quarter. Stephen F. Austin extended their lead to 16 points, which happened to be their largest lead of the half. The Lions trailed at the half, 43-28.
 
Good defense translated into good offense for Stephen F. Austin outscoring the Lions 14-4 on points off of turnovers. They also outscore the Lions in the painted area 24-16. After a strong offensive first quarter for the Lions, they finish the half shooting 37 percent on 10-of-27 shooting. Conversely, the Ladyjacks warmed up after a cold first quarter and shot an impressive 10-of-12 to improver their shooting to 46.9 percent in the half. Shomari Harris led the way for the Lions with seven points, five rebounds, and one assist, block, and steal each. Taylor Ross led the way for the Ladyjacks with nine total points, seven of them occurring in the second quarter.
 
2nd Half
The third quarter was much like the first quarter as both teams traded buckets back and forth once again. The Ladyjacks won the third quarter 15-14, with each team making six total field goals in the quarter. Although Stephen F. Austin went 0-4 from three-point range, the Ladyjacks doubled the Lions six points in the paint and had eight fast-break points verses the Lions zero.
 
The Lions finished strong in the fourth quarter outscoring the Ladyjacks by six points 23-17. After shooting 0-3 in the first three quarters, Brentney Branch got hot, and drained three threes in the fourth quarter giving her a game high of 18 points in 19 minutes with two steals and one assist. After Branch's final three, the Lions went on a 14-6 run and outscored Stephen F. Austin 23-17 in the final period. In fact, after a second quarter meltdown, the Lions outscored Stephen F. Austin 37-32 in the second half. Unfortunately, the Lions still fell 75-65 to Stephen F. Austin making them 0-2 when playing in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
 
As a unit, the Lions shot 44.4 percent in the game, which was better than Stephen F. Austin's 42.2 field goal percentage. Shomari Harris and Artaejah Gay each had a team high of ten points. Harris, who stands at a monstrous five feet and six inches, had a team high of seven rebounds and only trailed Stevi Parker for Stephen F. Austin, who had eight rebounds. Krystal Pickron also had a good game chipping in nine points, shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. For the Ladyjacks, three other players scored in double figures besides Brentney Branch. Taylor Ross and Taylor Schippers each accounted for 13 points and shot a combined 7-of-9 from the stripe. Stevi Parker flirted with a double double, but fell short recording 12 points and eight rebounds. However, Parker did have the game high in steals tallying three.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions shot better from the floor as well as from three-point range than Stephen F. Austin in the 75-65 loss.
• In the ten point loss, the Lions missed ten free throws, and had 20 total turnovers.
• Stephen F. Austin had a total of 12 steals.
• The Lions was outrebounded 39-32 for just the second time this season. The last game the Lions were beat on the board was in their first loss of the season against CSU-Pueblo.
• Stephen F. Austin barely won the battle in the paint winning 38-36. The Lions outscored the Ladyjacks in the paint 20-14 in the second half.
• The Ladyjacks capitalized on the Lions 20 turnovers by scoring 19 points.
• The Lions shot over 50% in the second half while Stephen F. Austin shot 38.7% in the second half.
• Brentney Branch knocked down 12 points in the second half and shot 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
• This was the fifth game this season where Shomari Harris had the team high in scoring.
• Harris either led, or was tied in first in five categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks).
• In Artaejah Gay's second consecutive start, she tied for a team high in scoring for the first time this season. 

 
Burton's Corner
When asked about:
…thoughts on their performance against Stephen F. Austin.…
"I am proud of our effort tonight. This team has heart and refuses to quit. In the second half, we were down by 20 points and they refused to throw in the towel and cut the lead down to ten. We are in better shape than what I thought and I believed this served as a good game to shake off a little rust from the Christmas break and get us focused for conference play."
…areas where the team struggled tonight, and addressing them for conference play.…
"We saw that we still have things we need to work on. We turned the ball over a lot today and had a hard time finishing throughout the game. We had good looks, but didn't finish the easier plays. We also struggled in closing the first half with the second quarter lapse we had. However, again our fight was great. Now we have eight days to start preparing for the LSC and from here on out, we know that each game counts and is very important."

GAME INFORMATION
Score: A&M-Commerce 65, Stephen F. Austin 75
Records: A&M-Commerce (6-5, 0-0 LSC), Stephen F. Austin (6-5, 0-0 Southland Conference)
Series: A&M-Commerce are 0-6 against Stephen F. Austin
Location: William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches, Texas
Time of Game: 6 p.m.