COMMERCE— The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team will travel to Lawton, Okla. to face Cameron University on Saturday. It is the second matchup between the two teams, with the Lions taking the first game 94-89 in December.
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (14-5, 8-3 LSC) at Cameron University (7-10, 5-6 LSC)
WHERE: Aggie Gym in Lawton, Oklahoma
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m.
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/cameron/wbball/
LIVE VIDEO: https://boxcast.tv/view/womens-basketball-vs-texas-am-commerce-615341
LIVE AUDIO: www.ketr.org
The Lions are coming off of a 69-64 grind-it-out win over Midwestern State on the road Thursday. With his players battling the flu and playing in a tough environment, head coach
Jason Burton was proud to have multiple players step up and contribute in a shorthanded fight.
"It's always tough to win on the road," he said. "Any time you come to Midwestern, it's always been tough for us. We battled some flu and things here and there and I thought people really stepped up and played well on the road. We needed people like
Courtney Fields. She set a conference season high in minutes and played well. Penina [Faumui] came off of the bench and played fantastic and we had some starters, who have been playing well all year, step up. It was a good team effort on the road to get a win."
The Lions shot 35 percent in the game to MSU's 50 percent, but still found a way to win the game. They had 22 offensive rebounds and took 22 more shots than the Mustangs. The Lions also caused 24 turnovers and gave the ball up only 12 times.
"We did a good job of creating extra possessions for ourselves," Burton said. "When you don't shoot the ball well, you've got to find a way to get more possessions. Two things we did were we hit the offensive glass and we took care of the ball. We found ways to get extra possessions throughout the game. And in the last 15 minutes of the game, we only had three turnovers. Those two things right there were the reason that we won."
The Lions now travel to Oklahoma to take on Cameron University. The Lions took care of the Aggies at home on Dec. 1, getting a 94-89 win. A&M-Commerce was able to get to the foul line in that game and was able to shoot a high percentage from the field. Burton knows his team will need to be able to both score and defend at a high level to come out on top.
"It's a really good Cameron team," he said. "They are really good at home. It's a scary team because they really score the ball. The thing I'm confident about though is that, the last few games, we have really been playing some defense. We'll find a way to rest today and get our legs back. I think, if we get our legs back, we will be able to guard because we are going to need to. They are scoring the ball, almost 80 points a game. They can really fill it up at home. They are battling to finish in that top half of the conference, if not higher than that. I think their first-year head coach is doing a great job and they will be confident at home."
The Lions are riding a four-game winning streak. It is the longest winning streak of the season and ties the longest winning streak of Burton's tenure as coach. He knows if his team wants to accomplish their preseason goals, they need to be able to get multiple wins in a row.
"To be able to finish they way we want to finish, we have to be able to put together a string of wins," he said. "We've had so many things happen to this team this year and we have always had people step up and play and we haven't missed a beat. I'm proud of this team. This is the first time we've had a four-game winning streak all year and we've got to find a way to get to five."
With a win against Cameron, the Lions would have their longest winning streak since 2009, when they strung together five consecutive wins. It would also give the Lions nine conference wins, tying their total from last season. With nine games still to go in the regular season, Burton likes the culture that his team is building. He has seen it change since he took over the job in 2014.
"I think the returners who have been here with me from the beginning realize where we have come from," he said. "And the newbies, this is what they expect. It's nice to build a culture where they expect to win. They know that it is all because of the hard work we have put in."
