COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team will face its first road game of the 2017-18 season on Saturday, taking on defending Heartland Conference champion St. Edward's in Austin.
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (1-2) vs. St. Edward's (2-1)
WHERE: Recreation and Convocations Center in Austin, Texas
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: heartlandsports.org/watch
 
The Lions are coming off of an opening season home tournament. While the team didn't have the success it wanted to have on the floor, head coach Jason Burton was more than pleased with the game environment provided by the fans.
 
"Our fans were great. We didn't have the turnout we wanted to have in terms of wins but I thought our fans were fantastic. And the band added to that when they came on Monday. To be at home to open our season up and have the environment that we had, I know we are going to have a lot of success at home this year. It was good basketball."
 
Burton credited the fans for the way his team got out to an early lead against Colorado State-Pueblo. Things then started to cool down as the Lions could not break through the zone defense.
 
"We didn't respond well to the zone and we didn't shoot the ball well," Burton said. "I thought our zone offense was fine. We got the ball where we wanted to get it but the ball didn't go in the hole. There are going to be nights like that but we had two games where we got zoned heavily. The thing is, now we have a lot of film to watch and break down and get better at that. We will bounce back and get out on the road this weekend and go down to Austin to play St. Ed's. I look for a different outcome down there and I know the team is looking forward to it."
 
While lamenting his team's shooting performance, Burton was excited to see the way his team was able to defend and get buckets during the first game of the tournament and in parts of the second game. He knows defense will serve his team well this season.
 
"Our defense and our rebounding led to quick buckets for us," he said. "We were able to score in transition because we got stops and our girls went out and ran the floor. We pushed the ball and got easy buckets early on. I really liked how we came out defensively against Pueblo early. That's what we need to get back to doing. I feel like when we guard better, our defense creates a lot of offense for us.
With the team facing an early hole early on, Burton isn't overly concerned about where his squad is. He knows they played some top level competition and this will be a good learning experience for his team moving forward.
 
"It is early in the year," he said. "We wanted to be tested and we were. Unfortunately we didn't beat Pueblo. That is a game that we probably should have won and we let that one go. So we are 1-2 instead of 2-1 right now. But again, we played really good teams and that will prepare us to play in the Lone Star Conference."
 
The Lions now prepare to play against St. Edward's. The Hilltoppers won both the regular season and postseason championships in the Heartland Conference. They are off to a 2-1 start and are playing similarly to the Lions in many aspects.
 
"They are shooting the ball like us," Burton said. "I think we are both shooting 29 percent. If you look at our stats for the year, they are both very similar. I don't think either one of us have gotten off to the year that we want to as far as just the play of our team."
 
Burton said St. Edward's plans to have a ring ceremony before the game, commemorating last year's team and awarding them with their Heartland Conference championship rings. Burton said it will be a fuel for his team, but once the ball it tipped off, it will be a battle until the final buzzer.
 
"Anytime you see somebody getting rings, you want to go out and win that game," he said. "It is a team that we have played closely the last few years and we have beaten them in those games. But it has always been a battle, especially going to Austin. It is going to be a tough game. We are going to have to be ready to play them. But I think our team is ready to respond to the last two losses that we've had and will come out and play well this weekend."