COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team fell 64-61 to UT Permian Basin on Saturday. The Lions had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but could not force an overtime period.
 
The loss brings the Lions to 17-11 on the season and 13-7 in the Lone Star Conference. The Falcons improve to 8-20 and 6-14 in conference play. The game was the final game of the regular season for both teams.
 
The Lions will now prepare for the Lone Star Conference Championship. The Lions are the third seed in the conference tournament and will face the sixth-seeded Cameron Aggies in the quarterfinal round of the tournament on Thursday, March 1, at Noon. The semifinal round will be played on March 3 with the championship game held on March 4. The tournament will be held at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Artaejah Gay led the Lions with 18 points and moved into third place on the all-time scoring list. She also had a double-double with 10 rebounds.
- Brianna Wise had 17 points and also had six rebounds and six assists.
- Melanie Ransom had eight points and six rebounds. Princess Davis added six points and five assists.
- The Lions shot 44 percent from the field and held the Falcons to 34 percent shooting.
- UTPB capitalized on 24 Lion turnovers, scoring 19 points.
- There were three ties and seven lead changes in the game.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After an opening bucket from Gay, the Falcons hit two threes in a row to take a 6-2 lead. Gay again scored a bucket inside as UTPB led 6-4 after three minutes. Courtney Fields hit a three at the midway mark to give the Lions a 9-7 lead halfway through the first quarter. UTPB then hit two threes in a row to retake a four-point lead, and another bucket gave UTPB a 15-9 lead with 1:32 left. The Lions finished the first quarter without scoring for nearly five minutes and trailed 16-9.
 
Gay scored a quick bucket to open the second quarter, opening up a 9-0 run as Ransom hit an and-one, giving the Lions back the lead. UTPB answered back with a 6-0 run of their own to take a 22-17 lead with seven minutes left in the half. Midway through the second quarter, UTPB held a four-point lead.
 
The Lions finished the quarter strong. Wise hit consecutive threes to pull the game even. UTPB went without points for the final four minutes and the Lions kept piling on. Gay hit a basket with 30 seconds left and then after a missed UTPB shot, Gay hit a buzzer-beating three to send the Lions into halftime with a 36-30 lead.
 
The Lions shot 68 percent in the first half, making 13 of their 19 shots. Gay led the team with 11 points at halftime. Wise added nine points and four assists. The Lions assisted on 11 of their 13 baskets. UTPB forced 14 Lion turnovers and converted them into 12 points. However, the Falcons shot just 33 percent in the first half.
 
The teams traded baskets back and forth to begin the second half. Gay hit a shot with 7:30 left in the third quarter to move into third place in school history in points scored. Midway through the quarter, the Lions held a six-point lead. A three-poionter from Jasmyn Eckerman gave the Lions a seven-point lead with three minutes remaining before UTPB scored the final four points of the quarter. The Lions held a 47-44 lead headed into the final quarter.
 
Gay hit a layup early in the fourth quarter before UTPB scored two baskets in a row to cut the Lion lead to just one point. The teams battled for several minutes as the Lion lead stayed at one possession. The Lions then scored two buckets and held an eight-point lead with just under two minutes to play.
 
The Falcons then rallied, hitting three triples in a row to take a one-point lead with 19 seconds to go. After a failed Lion possession, the team was forced to foul. UTPB made both free throws to lead by three with seven seconds left. A final shot was off the mark for the Lions.