COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team has their first home game of the season on Wednesday night, facing the LeTourneau University Yellowjackets.
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. LeTourneau University
WHEN: Wednesday, November 16 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: The Field House, Commerce, Texas
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tamucommerce/
LIVE STATS: http://statb.us/b/147052
 
The Lions are coming off of their first road trip of the season. They traveled to Denver, Colo., losing their first game against Colorado State-Pueblo but rallying to win their second game against Metro State.
 
A&M-Commerce coach Jason Burton said the high elevation was taxing on his team but he liked the effort his team gave. Metro State had just beaten the defending national champion in Lubbock Christian, who was riding a 35-game winning streak.
 
"Metro was very confident the next night when we played them," Burton said. "For our girls to pull out a close game and stay with it the whole time, with four lead changes in the final minute and for us to pull it out, it showed a lot on the road. I'm happy with that."
 
Burton said the game was fun to coach, but also nerve wracking. He liked his team's poise down the stretch.
 
"The good thing was we were able to come out of a timeout and draw some things up and have a high level of execution," he said. "That is going to be important moving on. At the same time, one of the biggest things that hurt us was giving up offensive rebounds at the end of the game. They had three possessions in a row where they got two shots. That is one thing that we know we need to get better at and it could have cost us the game."
 
Brianna Wise was the star for A&M-Commerce against Metro State. She scored 21 points, including the game winning layup with 14 seconds to go. Burton liked the way she played and the way she allows the team to play in a variety of different ways.
 
"Brianna is so versatile," Burton said. "She is able to cause some mismatches for some other teams. That is something we tried to take advantage of down the stretch—to isolate her and let her go one-on-one. It worked out in our favor. She made the winning layup. It was a tough shot and she finished it. That is something she has shown in our first two scrimmages and the first two games we have played. She is someone who can score the ball in a variety of ways. To have a player like that is definitely a treat."
 
Wise is averaging 16 points and shooting 57 percent from the field, both of which are ranked second in the Lone Star Conference after the first week of play.
 
The team will now face Division III opponent LeTourneau. The Lions beat LETU 101-70 last season, but Burton is not overlooking them. He is impressed with their level of experience and the problems some of their returning players gave his team last season.
 
"They bring a lot of players back," he said. They are very senior heavy. They just went up to Northwestern State, a Division I team, and played them to a 12-point game. I don't care what division they are, they played a good team to 12 points."
 
Among those players returning are the three leading scorers for LETU from last season's matchup. LaTanya Drakes had 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Lions in 19 minutes off of the bench. Crystal Jones had 17 points and finished last season averaging 20 points. She was named a Division III All-Region player. Also returning is point guard Ashley Reed, who scored 13 points against A&M-Commerce.
 
"They have players who can play," Burton said. "Anytime you have that many seniors on one team—that's a team that is scary. They are college basketball players who have been there. They are hungry because it is their last year of competition. Those girls are going to be hungry for a win. We have to make sure we are prepared to come out and defend our home court."