COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team got its first conference win of the season as the Lions knocked off Cameron University 94-89 on Thursday.

The Lions trailed by 12 at halftime but came back to tie the game at the end of the third quarter and won. The game was part of a doubleheader for "Lion Education Day" and the cheer of more than 1,000 students from local school districts fueled the team to their second consecutive double-digit comeback win.
 
The win brings A&M-Commerce to 5-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Their 5-2 start is the best start to a season for the team under coach Jason Burton. Cameron falls to 2-5 and 0-1 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday against Midwestern State University. The game will begin at 2 p.m. and will be followed immediately by the men's basketball team against MSU.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The game was part of "Lion Education Day." The official attendance was 1,889, comprised mostly of students from local school districts.
- The Lions trailed by 12 going into the second half. The win was their second-consecutive double-digit comeback. They trailed by 14 at halftime against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sunday and won in overtime.
- Krystal Pickron had a career-high 25 points to lead the Lions. She scored 17 points in the second half. She made 7-of-9 free throws.
- Khala Riley tied her career high with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting. She played a career-high 39 minutes and had six assists and five rebounds.
- Freshman Jenna Price also had a career day. She set highs in points with 15 and in rebounds with 14. It was the first double-double of her college career. She had six offensive rebounds and shot 7-of-10 from the line.
- Brianna Wise had 11 points and Artaejah Gay had nine points. Lauren Parker added eight points on 4-of-4 shooting.
- The win moves coach Burton into 4th place all-time in conference wins with 17 in his 2-plus seasons at the helm of the Lions. The win moves him into a tie for third for most home wins in an A&M-Commerce coaching career and he is two wins shy of moving into a tie for fifth place in program history.
- The Lion's 5-2 record to start the season is the best the Lions have started under Burton.
- Savanna James had 22 points to lead Cameron. Natalie Halbleib had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Price was an early scorer for the Lions, making the first two buckets for A&M-Commerce. The Lions scored their first three buckets in the paint and were aggressive to get to the free throw line throughout the game.
 
The Lions had troubles on the defensive glass early, as CU had some early offensive rebounds. The Aggies struggled to put the ball in the bucket but were fortunate to have second-chance opportunities. Midway through the quarter, the Lions had a 10-7 lead.
 
The Aggies went on a 9-1 run to take their first lead of the game at five points with two minutes left in the first quarter. The Aggies were in foul trouble early though and the Lions capitalized, cutting into the CU lead to trail by one heading into the second quarter.
 
The Lions retook the lead on the first play of the second quarter. CU then scored seven straight points to take the lead back. The Lions switched to a zone defense to combat the speed of the Aggies. A&M-Commerce cut the lead to three before the Aggies went on a late run to push their lead to double digits and finish the half on 8-0 run. Cameron took a 45-33 lead into halftime.
 
Price, Riley and Pickron each had eight points for the Lions at halftime. The Lions shot 33 percent from the field in the first half. Coming into the contest, the Lions had shot 77 percent from the line but shot just 58 percent in the first half. Halbleib and James both had 14 points for the Aggies. They shot 48 percent from the field and 29 percent from the three-point line.
 
Pickron had the first five points of the second half for the Lions on a layup and a three-pointer. The Lions scored the first seven points of the quarter to cut into the lead. Price was also active early. She drew two early fouls and made all four of her free throws to cut the Aggie lead to three after the first three minutes of play.
 
The Lions started to make their free throw attempts in the second half, and retook the lead with three minutes to play in the third quarter. The teams traded buckets through the rest of the quarter and went into the fourth quarter tied at 62-all.
 
The teams continued to trade buckets early in the fourth quarter. Wise came on strong for the Lions in the fourth. She had an and-one and a bucket to give Lions a five-point lead. They stretched their lead to seven on another and-one play, this one by Pickron, who had eight points in the final quarter.
 
Cameron fought back to cut the Lion lead to three but the Aggies were unable to get a defensive stop and the Lions knocked down their free throws to put CU away.