FORT WORTH– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team opened the 2016-17 season Saturday afternoon with an exhibition game against TCU. The Lions held pace with the Horned Frogs for much of the game but lost 84-60.
 
The game does not count toward either team's overall record. The Lions will now start the regular season by traveling to Denver, Colo., for back-to-back games. They face Colorado State-Pueblo on Friday at 6 p.m. CST. They will then play Metro State on Saturday at 8 p.m. CST.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 
- Princess Davis led the Lions with 12 points, with 10 coming in the first half. She also had four assists and four rebounds.
- Brianna Wise added 10 points for the Lions and had a team-high seven rebounds.
- Krystal Pickron had 10 points, six rebounds and a team-high three steals.
- A&M-Commerce shot 47.1 percent in the first quarter while holding TCU to just 31.3 percent shooting. The Lions led by six after the first quarter. There were five lead changes in the game.
- TCU had 38 points in the paint and 10 fast break points. The Lions had 16 points in the paint and nine second-chance points.
- The Lions shot 70.8 percent from the free throw line on 24 attempts. They got to the line eight more times than TCU.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Horned Frogs started out cold, missing their first five shots. The Lions took advantage, scoring two early buckets in the paint. Davis was aggressive early in the first quarter, getting to the line. The Lions led 6-0 in the opening minutes of the game.
 
The Horned Frogs started to go inside the paint and they found success drawing fouls. This jump started the offense and TCU scored seven straight to take the lead.
 
Davis continued her aggression, taking a fast break in for a layup and another for a short jumper. The Lions were quick to start the fast break on rebounds toward the latter parts of the first quarter. They sprinted into the lane and created opportunities for layups, fouls and offensive rebounds.
 
The Lions created four turnovers in the first quarter, two of which led directly to points. Davis had eight points in the first quarter as the Lions led 20-14.
 
Both teams hit a pair of 3-pointers in the beginning of the second quarter. The teams traded buckets and leads throughout the second quarter. The Lions continued their aggressive play, scoring in the lane and drawing fouls. Brittany Adams had a 3-point play, the old fashioned way, to keep the Lions in the lead.
 
TCU began to capitalize on a couple of Lion turnovers, getting layups and open jumpers on the fast break. They pushed their lead to 39-31 late in the second quarter.
 
The Lions continued to battle, matching buckets with the Horned Frogs to keep the game tight. A late run by the Lions left the halftime score at 42-37.
 
Davis had 10 points, four assists and three rebounds for the Lions in the first half. Wise had seven points and added three rebounds.
 
The Horned Frogs began to apply full-court pressure in the second half and using their height and length, began to pull away from A&M-Commerce. The pressure helped slow down the Lion pace, giving them less space to work with. TCU pushed its lead to 14 midway through the third quarter.
 
The Lions held tough in the latter part of the quarter. They trailed by 16 at the end of the third quarter.
 
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Lions were holding serve with the Horned Frogs, using defensive pressure of their own to keep TCU from pushing their lead much further.
 
Adams was a force in the middle for the Lions, both on the boards and drawing fouls in the paint. She used her size to match that of TCU.
 
The Lions played physically throughout the game, but especially in the fourth quarter, battling for rebounds against the taller Horned Frogs. However, the Horned Frogs slowly added to their lead. The Lions scored the five of the final seven points of the game, falling 84-60.