ALLEN, TEXAS – A&M-Commerce women's basketball (14-13) entered the LSC Tournament short-handed, but found a way to get the job done and upset the No. 3 seeded Cameron Aggies (15-11) 80-65.
 
Princess Davis had a whale of a game for the Lions, delivering her best stat line on the biggest stage in the conference. The freshman poured in 23 points on an efficient 7 of 13 shooting from the field and 7 of 10 shooting from the line. It was the third time this season that she broke the 20-point plateau, a boast none of her other teammates can make. Davis was also a conduit for the success of others, as the native of Sheveport had a career-high nine dishes. Davis added three steals and four rebounds, and played all forty minutes of the game.
 
"For a freshman to play all 40 minutes, and to play the way she did…we've been saying this all year, she's going to be special," said head coach Jason Burton.

La'Tisha Hearne submitted a throwback performance, her best night in over a month. The senior forward pulled down twelve rebounds, her highest total in over a month, to go with eight points and four assists. With the effort, Hearne improved to 602 career-rebounds, propelling her to sixth all-time on the career-rebounding list at A&M-Commerce.
 Artaejah Gay provided the Lions with an offensive spark, sinking 18 points on 9 of 17 shooting, adding five rebounds. Abigail Leaupepe-Tele flirted with a double-double with a 10-9 day. Gabby Scott rounded things out with an 11-6 night, which included three three-pointers. The A&M-Commerce lineup was forced to procure the win without the services of veteran guard Ashlee Johnson, who missed her second consecutive game with an upper-body injury.
 
"Tish stepped up on the glass, took three charges and changed the game with her defense," said Burton, "Abby really rebounded, (Kiana Evans) really rebounded…it may not show on the stat sheet, but everybody bought in and executed. Our team played phenomenal. I couldn't have asked for a better game from these young ladies."
 
The Lions and Aggies fought closely through the first half, and found themselves all knotted at 36-36 heading into the half. In the second half, however, A&M-Commerce took it up a notch beyond what CU could handle. The Lions outscored Cameron 44-29 in the second frame, severely outshot the Aggies (47.1% vs. 24.2%), and won the rebounding battle 30-16. It was the first time in an LSC Tournament since 2011-12 that a 6 seed eliminated a 3 seed, when Incarnate Word knocked off MSU.
 
Cameron was led by Jazzmine Robinson, who concluded her collegiate career with an absurd game. The senior guard dropped in a game high 29 points, adding eight rebounds and two steals. However, Robinson had to jack up 30 field goal attempts to get there, as the rest of the lineup struggled to click. Jade Herl and Brandi Leal, the top three-point shooters in the conference heading into the action, were limited to a combined eight points on 3 of 14 shooting.
 
"We know how well they can shoot the ball, and we didn't want them to get easy looks," said Burton, "We wanted to cover up their shooters and zone up on the other guards, and force them into shots that they weren't comfortable shooting."
 
With the win, the Lions advance to the second round of the LSC Tournament to face the No. 2 seeded Midwestern State Mustangs (22-5), who themselves advance after defeating Eastern New Mexico 70-49 in the opening round on Wednesday. The Mustangs and Lions have played each other twice, with the Mustangs taking both contests. In the first game in Wichita Falls, MSU got the 77-55 win thanks to a 16 point, five assist effort from Dianna Jones and a 13 point, eight rebound night from Andrea Carter. Later in the Field House, it was Lisa Hampton's turn, as she led Midwestern State to the 87-69 win with a 17-point night. In the all-time series, which dates back to the 1976-77 season, the Lions are 18-41 against MSU.
 
"We're going up against them on no rest, so our goal right now is to just get our girls off their feet and let them rest," said Burton, "Us coaches are going to go watch some film, and figure out the best plan for tomorrow."
 
Tipoff for the Lions' round two matchup is scheduled for Friday, March 6 at the Allen Event Center.