PORTALES, NEW MEXICO – A&M-Commerce women's basketball (13-9; 7-5 in LSC) is headed for Greyhound Arena in hopes of completing the season-sweep of Eastern New Mexico (8-14; 4-8 in LSC) and move their winning streak to three games.
 
The Lions and Zias last met inside the Field House in January. ENMU's Jordyn Cooper came off the bench to deliver a brutal three-point barrage, draining 7 of 10 from deep en route to a 23-point outing. Yet it wasn't enough, as Gabby Scott answered with 18 points of her own, and senior La'Tisha Hearne tallied her fourth double-double of the season to propel the Lions to a 70-62 victory. Now, the Lions will look to tighten their grasp on fourth place in the conference, while the Zias will have revenge on their mind as they attempt to defend their home floor. Fans can tune into the action live at either 107.1 Thunder Country or 88.9 KETR.
 
In the Lions' last game, a 67-62 road win in San Angelo against the Rambelles, Princess Davis took over with a 16 point performance on 5 of 7 shooting, adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals. It was a tight game, with neither team ever leading by double-digits, but A&M-Commerce was strong in the paint, and ultimately got away with the win. Davis leads the conference in assists at 4.2 per game.
 
Abigail Leaupepe-Tele has played perhaps the best stretch of basketball of her career. Over the last six games dating back three weeks, the senior forward has averaged 8.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1 block in only 18.7 minutes per game. In her last game against Angelo State, she had the best plus/minus rating in the game at +18, proving what a valuable asset she is for the team. Leaupepe-Tele currently ranks fourth in the conference in blocks at 0.9 per game.
 
For the Zias, Sarah Stinnett has been the team's leading scorer with 13 PPG, and she's done so with great efficiency, as she boasts the fourth best field goal percentage in the conference at 42.3%. Jasmine Johnson and Tori Tucker are the Zias' top rebounders with 6.6 and 5.8 RPG a piece, with Tucker also claiming the position as ENMU's second-most prolific scorer at 11.8 PPG.
 
On paper, the Lions have the advantage in virtually every major category. In fact, the Zias rank last in the LSC in multiple categories, which include opponent field goal percentage (42.3%), turnover margin (-2.95), blocks (1.36 BPG) and steals (5.68 SPG). The Lions will have the advantage in those, as well as in scoring, where they average 8.3 more points per game than the Zias (69.4 to 61.1). If there's one area where ENMU excels, it's from the free throw line, where they make 4.3% more of their shots than A&M-Commerce.
 
The Zias comes off a 2013-14 season in which they went 6-20 overall, finishing dead-last in the conference with a 4-12 LSC record, causing them to miss the LSC Tournament entirely. The two teams have combined for 57 contests dating back to 1984-85, with ENMU controlling the 32-25 all-time advantage. However, momentum has swung in favor of the Lions in recent years, with A&M-Commerce holding a 9-3 record against Eastern New Mexico dating back to 2006.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17 at 7 p.m. in Greyhound Arena. After that, the Lions travel back home to host the top team in the conference, the No. 6 ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buffs (20-2; 11-1 in LSC). That game is scheduled for Saturday, February 21 at 4 p.m.