Stephenville, Texas— The Lions drop another road game to fall to 3-5 after one half of conference competition.

TEAM LEADERS
A&M-Commerce
Points: Shomari Harris, 19
Rebounds: Audrisa Harrison, 8
Assists: Shomari Harris, 3
Steals: Shomari Harris, 3
Blocks: Three players with one block each

Tarleton State
Points: Ikpeaku Iwobi, 18
Rebounds: Ikpeaku Iwobi, 7
Assists: Two players with three assist each
Steals: Ikpeaku Iwobi, 3
Blocks: Breanna Fuller, 1
 
1st Half
Both teams started the game fast and hot, shooting 46 percent from the field. The biggest difference in the quarter was that the TexAnns shot 50 percent from the three-point line connecting on two treys to finish the quarter leading the Lions 20-14.
 
In the second quarter, the Lions continued to shoot decently from the floor, but more importantly played strong defense as the TexAnns ended the quarter shooting 0-of-4 , and 1-of-11 from the field. This provided the opportunity for the Lions to crawl back into the game after being down by nine points in this quarter. After on half of play, the Lions shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from the floor, while the Texnns dropped to 37.5 percent (12-of-32). Tarleton States three-point field goal percentage however was over 40 percent (5-of-12), and aided them greatly as they went into the half leading the Lions, 33-29.
 
Shomari Harris continues to be hot after a double-double last game and ends the half with a game-high 11 points on 5-of-7 attempts. Audrisa Harrison also had a strong half for the Lions with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. Raven McGrath leads the TexAnns in scoring with nine points and has two treys under her belt. Bailey Wipff and Ikpeaku Iwobi each add six points apiece.
 
2nd Half
The TexAnns came out of the half pressing the issue, and controlled the majority of the quarter with a 13-7 run to put them ahead of the Lions by ten points, 46-36. At that point, Shomari Harris sprinted down the court and connected on a stop and pop that started a big run for the Lions. With 41 seconds remaining in the quarter, Gabby Scott nails a three-pointer to cut the TexAnn lead down to one point, and eventually tied the game at 47 after converting on two free throws on the next possession. Scott's free throws completed an 11-1 run for the Lions as the third quarter approached an ending. Unfortuntely, the TexAnns ended the quarter with a two-point lead after a shot at the buzzer fell for Tiara Tatum.
 
With the Lions in striking distance, Tarleton State immediately tried to create distance, and went on a 7-2 run to take a 56-49 lead. The Lions came back to return the favor and went on their own 6-0 run to trim the Texann lead down to one at 56-55. Both teams went back and forth on runs until Artaejah Gay hit a mid-range shot to bring the deficit down again to two points at 64-62. Since that bucket, the Lions finished the game 0-of-5, 1-of-7, and 2-of-10 from the field. Tarleton State went on to hit free throw after free throw and won the game 71-64.
 
The Lions finished the game shooting 44.4 percent from the field (24-of-54) but featured a dreadful 3-of-11 from beyond the arc. Although shooting a higher percentage than the TexAnns from the field, Tarleton State's 6-of-14 attempts from the three-point line was key in this victory along with outrebounding the Lions in every category. Shomari Harris had a game high of 19 points with three assists and three steals. Artaejah Gay finished the game with 11 points, while Audrisa Harrison and Gabby Scott each had nine points to round out the top scorers for the Lions. Ikpeaku Iwobi was the leading scorer for the TexAnns with 18 points and had seven rebounds. Bailey Wipff had 17 points, scoring nine of them by way of three-pointers. Raven McGrath was the final TexAnn in double-digit scoring with 11 points and shot 2-of-3 from the three-point line.
 
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Lions have lost their last three Lone Star Conference games.
• A&M-Commerce was outrebounded for the fourth time this season.
• Tarleton State outrebounded the Lions 42-31 with the biggest difference coming on the offensive glass 15-8.
• The TexAnns also outscored the Lions in second chance points 14-9.
• 2:32 was remaining in the game when the Lions made their final field goal of the game. 
• The Lions led foe 24 seconds in this game.
• Shomari Harris has 11 games this season scoring in double figures.
•  Harris set a new career high in a Lions uniform with 19 points and shot 66% from the floor
• Ikpeaku Iwobi and Shomai Harris either led or tied in points, assists, and steals.

Burton's Corner
When asked about:

…where the team is after the first half of conference play.…
"We have not finished games on the road well all year but have taken care of The Field House. If that trend continues, then I like that we have five of our last eight games at home and that two of our remaining three road games are against teams we have beaten. Our team is in a good place but it is put up or shut up time. Everyone is still alive in the conference race and we have to make sure we get to Allen first. Secondly, we have got to put ourselves in the best position to make a championship run in the tournament by getting some momentum going into March. February is a big month for us."

GAME INFORMATION
Score: A&M-Commerce 64, Tarleton State 71
Records: A&M-Commerce (10-10, 3-5 LSC), Tarleton State (10-9, 4-5 LSC)
Series: A&M-Commerce are 19-31 against Tarleton State
Location: Wisdom Gym Stephenville, Texas
Time of Game: 5 p.m.