COMMERCE, TEXAS – For only the third time all season, the A&M-Commerce women's basketball team (11-9; 5-5 in LSC) let a home game get away from them, falling to the second place Midwestern State Mustangs (18-3; 9-2 in LSC) 87-69 on Wednesday in the Field House.
 
Abigail Leaupepe-Tele led all scorers with a season-high 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting and 4 of 4 from the lines. The senior forward was only two points off her career high, having already set a career-high with 15 rebounds only four games ago against Texas Woman's, and is in the midst of a banner year.
 
"Abby stepped up and played offensively the way she's capable of and like we've been asking her to," said head coach Jason Burton, "We need that to continue."
 
Burton experimented with his lineup by giving the nod to freshman forward Artaejah Gay for the first start of her collegiate career in place of senior Ashlee Johnson. Gay wound up with a team-high five rebounds to go along with six points and a steal, while Johnson came off the bench for the first time this season to score 10 points and four assists.
 
The Mustangs trotted out to an early lead, and never looked back. Reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week Lisa Hampton represented the honor admirably, leading all MSU players with 17 points. Forward Andrea Carter had the most balanced statline for Midwestern State on the afternoon, accumulating 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in only 22 minutes of action. The seniors were two of five total Midwestern State players to record double-digit scoring in the contest.
 
"We flat out didn't come to play tonight," said Burton, "We dug ourselves into a first half hole that we couldn't get out of. We have to be a more consistent team in games and practices for us to get into that upper echelon of the conference."
 
Though the Lions controlled a 44-24 advantage when it came to scoring points in the paint, the Mustangs did an excellent job of punishing Lion mistakes, outscoring A&M-Commerce 23-9 in points off turnovers. The two other significant advantages for the Mustangs came in free throw shooting (19 for 25 vs. 14 for 25) and ball distribution (21 assists vs. 11 assists). Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, though the Lions technically shot a better percentage from deep than the Mustangs (60% vs. 52.2%), MSU jacked up a much larger volume than A&M-Commerce, shooting 12 of 23 from deep to the Lions' 3 of 5.
 
With the win, the Mustangs maintain pace with first place West Texas A&M (18-2; 9-1 in LSC), trailing the Lady Buffs by only half a game. Coincidentally, MSU's next challenge will come next Wednesday, when they do battle with WT in a game with huge ramifications.
 
As for the Lions, despite the loss, they maintain their footing at fourth place in the conference thanks to a Tarleton State loss to Cameron. Next up, the A&M-Commerce wraps up the home-stand as the winless A&M-Kingsville Javelinas (0-20; 0-10 in LSC) come to the Field House. That game is scheduled for Thursday, February 12 at 5:30 p.m.