PORTALES, NEW MEXICO – Though the game looked destined for overtime with a tied score and only five seconds to play, the Lion women's basketball team (13-10; 7-6 in LSC) was assessed a questionable foul with under a second to go which allowed ENMU (9-14; 5-8 in LSC) to hit the go-ahead free throws and win 81-79.
Over the course of the final two minutes, A&M-Commerce brought the deficit to within two, and for the remainder of the half, kept the game within that margin as the game tied and untied itself multiple times. With 33 seconds to play, head coach Jason Burton called a timeout to draw up a play for freshman Artaejah Gay, who executed perfectly to tie things up. ENMU's Jordyn Cooper followed up with a missed three-point attempt, giving the Lions the ball for what seemed like the final possession. However, with five seconds to go, a controversial offensive foul call was made on Princess Davis, giving the Zias the ball. Eastern New Mexico's Sarah Stinnett raced down the court and appeared to lose the ball, but yet another controversial call was assessed to Ashlee Johnson, clearing the way for the Zias to win the game from the line.
The dominant storyline of the evening for the Lions was just how close the game was in spite of a 26-19 foul disparity in favor of ENMU and a 28 turnover performance, their poorest display of ball security since giving up 31 turnovers to Southern Arkansas back in November.
"It is what it is. When you go on the road in the LSC, you can't expect to get calls," said assistant coach Leonard Bishop, "It was a careless effort on our part. Those (28 turnovers) led to 23 points for them, and if we could have cut that number in half, we'd be walking out of here victorious tonight."
Junior center Kiana Evans was plagued by foul trouble throughout the contest, and eventually fouled out with just over three minutes to go. That wasn't before she had a major positive impact for the Lions, submitting her first double-double for the Lions while hitting a career-high ten rebounds. She finished the game with 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting, adding a steal. Evans' ten rebounds was a key factor toward the Lions vastly out-playing the Zias under the glass, as A&M-Commerce out-rebounded ENMU 53-29.
Not to be outdone, each of the Lions' primary ball-handlers matched career-highs in the loss. Freshman Princess Davis matched her career-high eight assists for the third time this season, to which she added ten points, five rebounds a block and a steal while going two of two from deep. Ashlee Johnson meanwhile tied her personal-best eight rebounds, also for the third time in her career. Gabby Scott led the team in steals (three) and shared the lead in points (15), accounting for one of five Lions to reach double figures on the night.
Eastern New Mexico was hardly a passive observer in the Lions' loss, as senior forward Tori Tucker dropped a whopping 32 points on the Lions by way of 10 for 18 shooting from the field, 4 of 9 shooting from deep, and a perfect 8 of 8 shooting from the line. Tucker's 32 was the most a single player has scored on A&M-Commerce all season. Also of note, the scrappy junior guard Sarah Stinnett submitted an impressive, well-rounded stat-line, putting up 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
The Zias pick up their first win over a team ranked outside the bottom-two in the Lone Star Conference, moving to 5-8 in LSC-competition, just one game back of sixth-place Texas Woman's (13-11; 6-7 in LSC). Eastern New Mexico will get a direct chance to improve that deficit to a tie, as the Pioneers head to Portales this Thursday.
As for the Lions, the loss drops them into a fourth place tie with Tarleton State (14-8; 7-6 in LSC), who technically possess the tie-breaker by virtue of a superior overall record. A&M-Commerce will have the chance to get back to their winning ways this weekend in the Field House, but it will be a stern test against the top team in the conference, the No. 4 ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buffs (20-2; 11-1 in LSC). Tipoff for that game is scheduled for Saturday, February 21 at 4 p.m.
