PORTALES, N.M. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team went back and forth for the entire game with Eastern New Mexico University before dropping a 64-60 decision in Greyhound Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lions fall to 15-7 overall and 11-3 in the Lone Star Conference with the loss, while Eastern New Mexico moves to 13-8 overall and 9-5 in LSC play.
 
A&M-Commerce is now tied for first place in the LSC with its next opponent – Angelo State. The Lions are next in action on Thursday, February 8, at 5:30 p.m. in San Angelo.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brianna Wise was the leading Lion on the scoresheet with 21 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 on free throw attempts.
- Artaejah Gay scored 14 points and was one of three Lions with seven rebounds.
- Melanie Ransom scored 13 points and had seven rebounds. Princess Davis netted nine points and had four rebounds.
- The Lions shot 35.2 percent (17-of-54) from the floor and made 2-of-10 three-point attempts. A&M-Commerce excelled at the charity stripe, making 24-of-28 (85.7 percent) of their free throws.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ransom drained a jumper just over a minute into the game to open the scoring before a Greyhound hot streak. Thanks to a pair of three-pointers, ENMU led 10-4 with 7:22 to play in the first quarter. From there, the Lion defense kept their hosts off the board for 5:28 of game time, simultaneously going on a 10-point run.
 
Davis' layup at the 2:07 mark gave the Lions a 14-10 lead. The Greyhounds scored five straight points to retake the lead, but Wise's free throws in the final seconds of the quarter gave A&M-Commerce a 16-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
 
The Lions took their largest lead of the first half in the opening minutes of the second quarter, keeping ENMU off the board for more than four minutes. A pair of Wise free throws, a London Holland free throw, and a Ransom jumper put the Lions up 21-15 with 6:14 left before the break.
 
A&M-Commerce only made two more field goals before halftime, with most of the Lion contributions coming at the free throw line. ENMU chipped away at the lead and made four straight free throws in the final seconds of the quarter to tie the game at 31-31 with 20 minutes to go.
 
The Lions scored the first four points of the second half to regain the lead and did not relinquish the lead in the period despite a shooting lull. A&M-Commerce went 0-for-6 from the field as ENMU came back to tie the game up at 36-all before a Davis personal five-point run. Her pair of free throws at the 3:57 mark made it a 41-36 lead for the Lions. The Lions were unable to make a field goal in the final 3:30 of the quarter, but took a 45-43 lead into the final period of play.
 
A&M-Commerce was able to hold on to the narrow lead for the early stages of the fourth quarter before going cold from the field again. The Lions missed eight consecutive shots from open play, allowing Eastern to go on an eight-point run. The Greyhounds swung the game to a five point lead in the final seconds. Wise made three free throws and Gay nailed a jumper to cut the lead to two points, but Eastern made eight free throws in the final two and half minutes to earn the win.