COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated UT Permian Basin 74-67 on Thursday night. The Lions jumped out to a 19-2 lead early in the game and held off a late rally by the Falcons to get the win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 12-5 on the season and 6-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The Falcons fall to 5-10 and 2-7 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday as they host West Texas A&M for College of Business Fill the Field House. WT is also 6-3 in conference play. The game will start at 2 p.m. at the Field House. Fans will receive free admission to both the men's and women's basketball games against WT.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions had three players finish with double-doubles, the first time that has happened this season.
- Artaejah Gay led the Lions with 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was her fourth game of the season with at least 20 points and her third double-double of the season.
- Jenna Price had her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. She continues to average a double-double in conference action.
- Khala Riley neared a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. It is the first double-double of her career.
- Krystal Pickron had 13 points and six rebounds. Brianna Wise added nine points and five rebounds.
- The Lions had 16 second-chance points with 15 offensive rebounds.
- The Lions struggled with turnovers, committing 24 in the game, with a fair amount coming in the final minutes of the game.
- Briana Caro led UTPB with 28 points and eight rebounds. The Falcons shot 31 percent from the field. They also came away with 15 steals in the game.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED Both teams started out cold from the field, each missing their first four shots. The Lions finally got on the board two minutes into the game. Gay scored the first nine points for the Lions, scoring in a variety of ways.
 
The Lions scored the first 12 points of the game, making four consecutive shots after missing their first four. After the Falcons got on the board for the first time, A&M-Commerce went on another run to push its lead to 19-2.
 
The Falcons started to find the basket but without much regularity. UTPB shot 19 percent in the first quarter. Gay scored 11 points in the first quarter alone, including a buzzer-beating layup off of an offensive rebound. The Lions led 24-7 after one.
 
UTPB began to match baskets with the Lions in the second quarter, cutting the Lion lead back down to single digits with three minutes, going on a 12-2 run to get back into the game. The lead was cut down to just five with two minutes left. The Falcons were led by Caro, who scored 13 points in the second quarter.
 
The Lions went on a cold streak, making just three of their final 10 shots of the second quarter. However, the Falcons also struggled down the stretch, missing their final five shots of the quarter. The Lions took a 36-29 lead into halftime.
 
Gay had 13 points in the first half to lead the Lions. She also had five rebounds. Price had seven points and six rebounds. Caro had a game-high 19 points for UTPB at the half. She also led the team with four rebounds.
 
The Lions shot 34 percent in the first half, shooting 29 percent in the second quarter. UTPB raised their percentage from 19 in the first quarter to 31 percent at the end of the half. The Lions had 14 second-chance points and scored 14 points off of nine UTPB turnovers.
 
The Lions again jumped out of the gate hot in the third quarter. They quickly brought their lead back to double digits, scoring nine of the first 11 points of the quarter. With two free throws and a shot from Wise, the Lions pushed their lead back to 14.
 
After the early run by the Lions, the teams continued to trade baskets throughout the remainder of the quarter. The Falcons made a late run to trail 54-44 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The Lions started strong in the fourth quarter, pushing their lead back up to 15 points. Riley continued to be strong on the glass and pushing down the floor to find her teammates.
 
The Falcons continued to pressure the Lions in the backcourt and made a late run to cut the Lion lead to single digits. The Lions committed multiple turnovers late in the game to give UTPB a glimmer of hope, committing seven turnovers in just over a two-minute span. But the Lions held on and made their free throws to come away with the win.