COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team lost 55-52 to No. 5 Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday night. The Lions held an early 20 point lead but struggled in the second half to make shots and lost a close one.
The loss brings the Lions to 1-1 on the season. The Thunderwolves improve to 1-1 on the year.
The Lions will finish their three game opening season home stand on Monday night. A&M-Commerce will face Lubbock Christian at 5:30 p.m. The game will be played at the Field House.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Artaejah Gay led the team with 15 points, while also grabbing six rebounds.
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Jenna Price had nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Melanie Ransom added 12 rebounds.
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Brianna Wise scored seven points and had seven rebounds.
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Princess Davis had eight points and two assists.
Jasmyn Eckerman had five points and five rebounds.
- The Lions led 24-4 after the first quarter but struggled from the field the rest of the game. A&M-Commerce led by as many as 23 early in the second quarter.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions got off to a hot start, scoring the first 14 points of the game. The Lion defense created multiple turnovers and converted them into easy transition layups. Gay had six early points while Price chipped in four in the rally. Gay had eight points and two blocks in the first quarter.
The Lions continued to roll, scoring 20 of their 24 first quarter points in the paint, 10 of which came on the fast break. The Lions led 24-4 after one quarter.
The Thunderwolves clamped down on their inside defense from the second quarter on, forcing the Lions to shoot from outside the arc. After the Lions pushed their lead to 23 early in the quarter, CSUP then went on a run, scoring 14 unanswered points. The Thunderwolves took control of the paint and took the paint away from the Lions. A&M-Commerce struggled from the field, being outscored 18-5 in the quarter. The Lions led 29-22 at halftime.
After scoring two early buckets in the third quarter, the Lions again went cold and CSUP took advantage. A three-pointer with 3:32 left in the quarter gave the Thunderwolves their first lead of the game at 36-35. Gay then hit a three to give A&M-Commerce back the lead. The Lions ended the quarter on a run as Price hit a three-point play and Gay and Davis both had layups. The Lions led 45-38 at the end of the third quarter.
CSUP hit two early threes as the gap was closed quickly in the fourth quarter. The Lions again went cold in the quarter, being held without a bucket for the first eight minutes of the quarter. Wise hit a three and Ransom had a transition bucket late to cut the CSUP lead down to just one.
The Lions were forced to foul and could not get the Thunderwolves to miss, losing the game by three.
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Lion Athletics Mission: Committed to a "Best in Class" student-athlete experience
