COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team got its third consecutive win on Saturday, knocking off Midwestern State University 73-60. The Lions overcame a cold shooting first half to take control of the game down the stretch.
 
The win brings the Lions to 6-2 on the season and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 2-5 and 0-2 in conference play.
 
The game was the Lions' final home game of 2016. They will play their next six games on the road. They next play on Thursday against Eastern New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. CST. The game will be played at the Greyhound Arena in Portales, N.M. The Lions' next home game is set for Jan. 14.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions trailed by eight with eight minutes to go in the third quarter. They proceeded to go on a 31-6 run over the next 12 minutes. They led by as many as 19 in the game.
- Artaejah Gay led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 13 points in the second half. She also had three steals and five rebounds.
- Krystal Pickron, Khala Riley, Jenna Price and Brianna Wise all finished with nine points.
- Pickron led the Lions with seven rebounds and six assists. Price had six rebounds and a team-high four steals. Wise had five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
- The Lions had 25 offensive rebounds, including 11 in the second quarter. They had 13 second-chance points.
- The Lions caused 25 Mustang turnovers and converted them into 27 points. They had 17 steals in the game.
- No MSU player finished in double figures. Kristin Rydell and Whitney Taylor each had nine points. Jennifer Arbuckle added seven points.
- The Lions ended the third quarter on an 18-2 run.
- The win moves head coach Jason Burton into sole possession of third place in program coaching history with 22 wins inside the Field House. 
 - After shooting 23 percent in the first half, the Lions shot 48 percent in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams started cold from the field. The Lions missed four of their first five shots while the Mustangs missed their first two plus two free throws. The Lions had an eight point lead early in the first quarter but struggled with their shot throughout the first quarter and the first half. They shot 5-of-16 in the first quarter. Pickron aided the Lions, knocking down both of her three-point attempts. She had six points in the quarter.
 
The Lions had five offensive rebounds and took seven more shots than MSU. They also scored seven points off of turnovers and converted their free throws. The Lions led 18-15 after the first quarter.
 
The Mustangs tied the score early in the second quarter. The quarter was tightly contested as both teams traded buckets and traded the lead back and forth.
 
The Lions continued to struggle from the field in the second quarter. They outshot MSU 23-to-13 but converted just four of their shots. Rebounding kept the Lions in the game. They had 11 offensive rebounds in the second quarter, the most of any quarter for A&M-Commerce this season.
 
The Mustangs started to gain momentum late in the quarter. They went on a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Lions answered right back. Gay had a three-point play to cut the Mustang lead to two. MSU scored on its next possession to push their lead back to four with six seconds left. The Lions ran a play out of a timeout but were unable to get a last-second bucket. They trailed 34-30 at halftime.
 
Price led the Lions with seven points. She also had four rebounds. Pickron had six points and a team-high five rebounds. Gay had five points and Wise had four points and a team-high three assists. Arbuckle and Rydell each had seven points for the Mustangs.
 
The Mustangs come out on a hot streak. They had two three-pointers and pushed their lead to eight after the first two minutes of the second half. The started the quarter on an 8-2 run.
 
The Lions regrouped after a timeout and started to cut into the Mustang lead. They went on a 10-0 run to take a 42-40 lead with five minutes to go in the quarter. The Lions pushed the ball in transition and played tight defense and got takeaways that they turned into easy buckets. The Lions caused three consecutive MSU turnovers that led to points. The Mustangs had nine turnovers in the third quarter.
 
Gay had nine points in the third quarter, shooting 4-for-6 from the field. The Lions shot 58 percent in the third quarter while holding the Mustangs to 31 percent shooting. They also shot eight free throws while MSU did not have an attempt from the line in the quarter. The Mustangs were held scoreless for final four minutes of the quarter and A&M-Commerce took a 50-44 lead into the fourth quarter. The Lions finished the quarter on an 18-4 run.
 
The Lions blew the game open in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. They scored eight unanswered to start the quarter and took a 14-point lead. Their 26-4 run was eventually snapped with six minutes to play. The Lions slowly pushed their lead even further. They led by as many as 19 late before putting in their reserves.