COMMERCE, TEXAS – After two games on the road, A&M-Commerce women's basketball (13-10; 7-6 in LSC) returns to the friendly confines of the Field House, where they will host the No. 4 ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buffs (21-2; 12-1 in LSC) at this Saturday's Pink Out game, sponsored by Lake Pointe Medical Center.
 
The two teams faced off last month at the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas. Despite a career-high 22-point evening for breakout freshman forward Artaejah Gay, the occasion proved inauspicious for the Lions, who fell to WT by a score of 100-73. Danielle Logan sunk a team-high 21 points in the first half alone for a Lady Buffs squad that produced seven double-digit scorers on the night. A&M-Commerce will have the chance at evening the season series this Saturday, and fans will be able to listen in live to both 88.9 KETR and 107.1 Thunder Country.
 
The Lions enter the action coming off a dissatisfactory 81-79 loss in Portales to Eastern New Mexico. In defeat, junior center had one of the best games of her career despite fouling out with over three minutes to play. Evans submitted her highest rebounding total with ten boards, leading to the first double-double of her A&M-Commerce career with a 15-10 performance. Freshman Princess Davis, the LSC-leader in assists with 4.3 APG, had an excellent game in her own right, matching her career-high eight assists while adding ten points and five rebounds.
 
The Lions front court as a whole will be pivotal in determining the team's success against West Texas A&M. In addition to Gay and Evans, A&M-Commerce has leaned heavily on their pair of senior forwards La'Tisha Hearne and Abigail Leaupepe-Tele. Hearne has pulled down four double-doubles on the year, and has twice earned LSC Player of the Week honors, once on offense and again on defense. She has been nagged by a lower-body injury as of late, but has nonetheless been a selfless contributor, racking of rebounds and charges when her team needs them. Leaupepe-Tele meanwhile does not get the same minutes as the rest of the frontcourt, but takes maximum advantage of those she does get. Two games ago in the 67-62 win over Angelo State, Leapepe-Tele led all players in the game in the plus/minus metric, logging a +18 in only 18 minutes of action (which is to say, the Lions outscored the Rambelles by 18 points during the ties that she was on the floor). She is fourth in the LSC in blocks (0.9 BPG) and seventh in rebounds (6.5 RPG) while averaging a mere 17 minutes per game.
 
From an individual standpoint, the Lady Buffs are led by senior center Chontiquah White, who ranks second in the conference in both scoring (17.9 PPG) and rebounding (9.0 RPG), while leading the conference outright in field goal percentage (53.7%). Sophomore guard Sasha Watson meanwhile has stats similar to those of the Lions' Ashlee Johnson. Watson is second in the conference in assists (4.0 APG) and is the very best in the conference at disrupting passes with 2.7 steals per game.
 
As the No. 4 ranked team in Division II, it comes as no surprise that the WT sits on top of the conference in a variety of categories, including scoring (78.8 PPG), scoring margin (+15.7), field goal percentage (48.8%), turnover margin (+2.0), assists (18.0 APG) and steals (10.5 SPG). The Lions are not without advantages of their own, however, as they average ore blocks per game (2.9 vs. 2.0), and are the best rebounding team in the conference with 41.8 RPG, averaging 3.5 more boards than West Texas A&M (38.3 RPG).
 
The two teams have played women's basketball against one another since the 1975-76 season, having compiled 56 contests in that span. The Lady Buffs have the stranglehold on the series with a 51-5 record against the Lions. The last time A&M-Commerce managed a victory against WT was back in the 2006-07 season, when the Lions went all the way to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight for the only time in school-history.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, February 21 at 4 p.m. in the Field House. General admission for the double-header costs $8. For children between 4 and 12, the price is reduced to $5. For kids three and below, as well as students with a valid ID, entry is permitted free of charge. In the spirit of the occasion, donations will be accepted, 100 percent of which will go toward breast cancer research.