COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team opens up the 2018-19 season with three games in four days. The Lions will face Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes Colorado State-Pueblo and Metro State before facing host school Lubbock Christian.
 
CSU-P
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (0-0) vs. Colorado State-Pueblo (0-0)
WHERE: Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lcuchaps.com/live
 
MSU-D
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lcuchaps.com/live
 
LCU
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lcuchaps.com/live
LISTEN: ketr.org/
 
The Lions are coming off of an exhibition matchup against Baylor. The Lions were able to score 61 points against BU. Head coach Jason Burton liked the way his team executed against a physical and talented Division I team.
 
I" thought that we went down and played together, executed well and played to the best of our ability," he said. "They are the No. 4 team for a reason. They are one of the biggest teams in the country and in my opinion have the best front court in the country. I thought, as far as executing, playing fearlessly and following a game plan, our players did exactly what we wanted. And we also showed the ability to shoot the ball over some size. I was pleased with that. It has been a strength of ours to attack and get into the paint but when you are not able to score in the paint, to find a way to still score 61 points, I thought we really played well."
 
The Lions now open up the season for the fourth year in a row against Colorado State-Pueblo and Metro State. While the opponents are similar, Burton sees two teams with a lot of roster turnover, much like his own. He is looking for two good matchups.
 
"Pueblo has really had our number the last three years," Burton said. "And it has been the reverse for us against Metro. We have played well against them. Last year we played two really close games and went 1-1 against those two teams. It is a big test. These are the only two games we have against the RMAC. These are big regional games. We are all new teams. There are a lot of unfamiliar faces. We aren't really sure what they are going to do early on but we have to focus on ourselves. We have to focus on doing what we do and doing it to the best of our abilities."
 
The Lions will then stay in town to face No. 10 Lubbock Christian. The Lions lost to LCU last season in a lopsided affair in Commerce. Burton is looking for a better showing this season and feels his team will be up to the challenge against the talented Heartland team.
 
"The coach does a great job at Lubbock Christian and always has," he said. "They were the national champions a few years ago. They will be very well coached and well disciplined. They have a lot of players coming back. That is a plus for us because we can still see what they do. They put it to us last year. We didn't do a good job against their zone last year and didn't shoot the ball very well. But this is a different team this year. This team is further along than we were last year. Come Monday, we will both have already played two games and will be a little bit fatigued. We will roll the balls out and play and be ready to compete at a high level."
 
Early on, teams are looking to establish their identity and improve. Burton knows this type of test, with three games in four days, will show him what the team has in them and what they need to improve on as the season progresses.
 
"When you look at the post season, and it is hard to look at the post season right now because it is so far away. But to be able to win three games in four days is what you have to do, whether you are in the NCAA Tournament or the conference tournament," Burton said. "This is a test. You see what you are made of this weekend. The thing I really like about our team is our depth. That is something that shows up in that second day. You are tired, fatigued and might be a little banged up. And how you are able to respond and come back the next day will be big."