ALLEN, TEXAS – With the regular season concluded, the A&M-Commerce women's basketball team (13-13; 7-9 in LSC) is set to kick off the Lone Star Conference Championships on Thursday with a first-round matchup with the third seeded Cameron Aggies (15-10; 12-4 in LSC).
 
The Lions and Aggies have faced twice previously during the course of the year, with Cameron securing wins in both matchups. However, both games were close, evidenced by A&M-Commerce's losses only coming by a combined seven points. In their first meeting in Commerce, the Aggies escaped with a 65-64 win thanks to Charron Montgomery coming off the bench to score 18 points on a perfect 7 of 7 shooting. A few weeks later, the Lions made the trek to Oklahoma, and wound up leading for the majority of the contest, led by La'Tisha Hearne's 16 point, eight rebound night. However, Cameron seized the momentum in the waning minutes before pulling ahead at last on the back of a 22-9 effort by Jazzmine Robinson on 11 of 12 shooting from the free throw line. Now, fans can tune into the winner-take-all contest on either 88.9 KETR or 107.1 Thunder Country.
 
Hearne enters the game as the top-rebounder for the Lions (fifth in the LSC) on the season with 7.1 per game, and she'll be chasing history when the game tips off. The senior is currently tied for sixth on the all-time rebounding list with 590 career-rebounds. With just one more against Cameron, she'll seize sole possession of sixth place, moving past Stacy Norell, who played from 1989 to 1993.
 
In their first game in Commerce, Artaejah Gay was the leading scorer with 14 points and nine rebounds, adding a block and a steal in 22 minutes of play. LSC Honorable Mention Gabby Scott meanwhile was effective in both outings against the Aggies. In Commerce, Scott had a balanced line of eight points and seven assists, and in her second game at Aggie Gym, scored nine points. Abigail Leaupepe-Tele's second look against Cameron was a success, as the senior led all rebounders with 12 boards, chipping in eight points and two blocks.
 
For the Aggies, Jazzmine Robinson has been their heartbeat, averaging a conference-best 18.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG, the fourth-best mark in the LSC. Before going off in her second game against the Lions, she was held to a nine point, seven rebound night in Commerce. Beyond Robinson, the Aggies have a pair of knock-down three point shooters in Brandi Leal and Jade Herl. The two rank one and two in the conference in threes per game with 3.7 and 2.7 per game respectively. Herl ranks as the second most accurate three-point shooter in the conference and also leads all players with 33.6 minutes per game.
 
As a team, the Aggies' excellent shooting is beyond reproach. They rank second in the conference in scoring (71.0 PPG), and first in the conference in three-pointers per game with 7.7. Conversely however, they rank last in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (10.5 ORPG), but more strikingly, defense, for they allow a league-worst 73.0 PPG to opponents. The Lions enter the contest as the top-rebounding team in the conference (41.1 RPG), and could take advantage of CU's shortcomings with sound defensive work on the perimeter.
 
The Lions and Aggies have played one another 42 times, and the all-time series is all knotted up at 21-21. The team that seizes the lead in the series will go on to face the Midwestern State Mustangs, who defeated the Eastern New Mexico Zias by a score of 70-49 to move to the second round of the Tournament.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for Thursday, March 5 at noon in the Allen Event Center.