CANYON– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team will head out on the road for two Lone Star Conference matchups this weekend. The Lions face No. 8 West Texas A&M on Thursday and Eastern New Mexico on Saturday.
 
No. 8 West Texas A&M
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (10-4, 5-1 LSC) vs. No. 8 West Texas A&M (13-1, 5-1 LSC)
WHERE: First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wtamu/
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
Eastern New Mexico
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Eastern New Mexico (10-4, 5-1 LSC)
WHERE: Greyhound Arena in Portales, New Mexico
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. CST
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://goeasternathletics.com/watch/?Archive=302&type=Live
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
The Lions are coming off of two home wins last week. On Tuesday, the Lions defeated Tarleton State and continued their win streak with a win over Texas Woman's on Saturday. Head coach Jason Burton liked the way his team played in both games.
 
"I thought we played two really good games," he said. "It all starts with our defense. Our defense has really been coming along. Along with defense is rebounding. We have rebounded well and that has allowed us to get out in transition and put pressure on other teams. That is something we have to continue to emphasize, especially this week on the road."
 
During the Lions' current seven-game winning streak, the team has been one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. After the TSU game on Tuesday, in which the Lions had a +23 rebounding margin, the Lions jumped to the top team in the nation in rebounding margin. Coach Burton credited his whole team for their effort in rebounding the basketball, both on offense and defense.
 
"That is something we are proud of," Burton said. "Agang Tac has been a catalyst for that. She is somebody that makes a difference for us without having to score the basketball with how well she rebounds the ball. And there are times she doesn't get the rebound, but puts it back in play so we can get the rebound. Alexis Bryant has really stepped up as well. In her last three games, she has averaged a double-double. Having two of our bigs play that way has been huge for us.
 
"And then our guard rebounding has been tremendous. And that is by committee. Some games it is Princess Davis. Mykiel Burleson has done well rebounding the basketball for us. And on down the line. There have been games where our guards have stepped up and rebounded."
 
Now heading on the road, Burton knows the importance of every possession. He knows the team will need to continue to rebound well if they want a chance to win.
 
"It is not always easy to make shots on the road," he said. "[Offensive rebounding] have been big for us as far as having extra possessions. Looking at last week, we turned the ball over more than we wanted to so having those extra possessions on the offensive side was good. Our team has done a good job with that and we have to keep that going."
 
The Lions are currently tied for first place in the LSC standings. It is a four-way tie atop the leader board. Among those top teams are also West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. Burton sees these games as an opportunity to push the team ahead, but knows the difficulty of both arenas.
 
"Those are two tough places to play," Burton said of Canyon and Portales. "Looking back at last season, that was our first win in Canyon in a very long time. And we haven't won in Portales since I've been the head coach. This is a big week for us in terms of going to try and steal wins on the road. We need to get out on the road and come to play and find a way to win one or two. That would be huge for our team."