COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team will face two home games over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Lions kick off an early celebration with an afternoon game against LeTourneau University on Wednesday and will finish the week against Southeastern Oklahoma State coming into town on Sunday.
 
LeTourneau
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (2-2) vs. LeTourneau (0-1)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lionathletics.com/live
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-2, 1-1 GAC)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 26 at 4 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lionathletics.com/live
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
 
The Lions are coming off of a 71-64 road win over St. Edward's on Saturday. The Lions were able to hold off a fourth quarter run by the Hilltoppers and close the game out to win. Head coach Jason Burton was happy, above all else, to finally see his team knock down shots in the game.
 
"The ball finally went in the bucket," he said with a smile. "We started out the game with a nice little run. We shot 50 percent from three that game. We shot 82 percent from the free throw line. We finally got a chance to see the ball go in the bucket, which we hadn't seen. That is one thing we wanted to focus on this past week was everybody getting shots up and getting reps.
 
The Lions were also able to find a way through the zone defense of the Hilltoppers. The zone defense had given the Lions troubles early in the season and Burton was pleased with how his team executed against St. Edward's.
 
"We have been zoned heavily the last 11 quarters now," he said. "That is one thing we will have to be prepared for in conference play is being able to play well against the zone. I thought we did a good job executing against the zone."
 
The Lions had some stand out performances in the game. Brianna Wise scored a career-high 25 poijnts and shot a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the three point line. Artaejah Gay added 19 points and had four blocks and Princess Davis had 14 points and five assists in the match. Wise and Gay were named the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week respectively early today.
 
"I was really proud the way those three particularly responded," Burton said. "We stepped up, especially our seniors. They stepped up and made winning plays. Brianna Wise made a lot of threes, but they were timely. Sometimes they would go on a run and she made a three and it kind of slowed down their run. I'm really proud of the way she played and the way she scored the ball. We need that from her this year."
 
"We did a good job of getting Tae the ball in scoring opportunities and she did a great job on the block. And she knocked down a couple threes too, which was big for us. Princess, with her ability to push the ball in transition and to find her teammates and create for others. She has really done a great job of rebounding from the point guard spot. I thought she really played well. Those [three] really carried us that game."
 
The Lions fought off a late fourth quarter run by SEU. After leading by 10 going into the fourth quarter, the Lions let the Hilltoppers tie the game before going on a run to end the game with the victory. Burton liked how his team played down the stretch. He especially liked how they cleaned up their turnovers in the final minutes and knocked down some key free throws.
 
"If we don't make free throws down the stretch, we probably lose that game," Burton said. "St. Ed's caught fire in that last minute and a half as far as shooting the three. I think they made three threes in the last 1:15 of that game. We had to make sure we made free throws down the stretch.
 
"And we didn't turn the ball over late in the game. That was big. We had 29 turnovers that game. That was one thing that was a disappointment was our turnovers. We did a good job with our press of creating turnovers but we would get a steal and then turn the ball over right back. We have to clean that up. But we didn't turn the ball over down the stretch and we knocked down free throws. Tae and Princess got to the free throw They knocked down some big free throws and we were able to come away with the win. It was a really good job by two four-year veterans for us that have really played well and continue to do so."
 
The Lions now face Division III opponent LeTourneau. Bureton hopes to use the game to clean up some of the team's turnover issues and to continue to execute and get into a shooting rhythm. The Lions will then face Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sunday, a team that defeated the No. 3 team in the country on their home floor last week.
 
"Right now, we are in a two week window of trying to get prepared for conference," Burton said. "We start conference next week. Our goal on Wednesday is to clean up our mistakes. We need to get back to low turnover basketball. Hopefully we can put together back-to-back games where we shoot the ball well.
 
"And if you look at Southeastern, they just beat the No. 3 team in the country in Harding. They have some talent over there. It has always been a battle against them. We went into overtime with them last year in Durant. They have a really good team and a really good coach."
 
Burton has seen how his team can play, both offensively and defensively, in the first four games of the year. He now hopes to be able to get his team to play that way on a consistent basis heading into the Lone Star Conference season.
 
"The thing with us is maintain our defense," he said. "I thought our defense, at times this year, has been at a high, high level. When we can get more consistent in our defense and continue to knock down shots, our team is really good. Our thing is consistency. We are trying to work on being a consistent team."

Tickets to Wednesday's match are free of charge as part of Fan Appreciation Day.