PORTALES, N.M.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team lost to Eastern New Mexico 90-79 on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Lions got off to a cold start from the field and could not mount a comeback.
 
The loss brings the Lions to 10-6 and 5-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The Greyhounds improve to 12-4 and 7-1 in conference play.
 
The Lions return home to host Western New Mexico on Thursday. The game will be played at 5:30 p.m. at the Field House, followed by the Lion men's basketball team against the Mustangs. Tickets for the doubleheader are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756 or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Princess Davis (Shreveport, La.) led the Lions with 17 points, all of which came in the second half. She also had five rebounds and led the team with four assists.
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) had 15 points while Maddison Glass (Missouri City – Hightower) had 13 points. Makayla Foy (Edmond, Okla.) also scored in double figures with 11 points.
- The Lions shot 29 percent from the field in the game while ENMU shot 43 percent.
- ENMU shot 44 free throws while the Lions shot 30 free throws. There were 51 foul calls in the game.
- The Lions had just eight turnovers in the game while ENMU had 19. The Lions scored 21 points off of turnovers.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On the team's shooting struggles: "It was a really tough shooting performance for us tonight. For the ball not to go in as much as it did – we shot 28.9 percent – To shoot that poorly and shoot 30 more shots than them… We found a way to get more shots than them. We took 90 shots today and they shot 60."
  - On the team's struggles on this road trip: "We have find ways to continue to overcome adversity on the road, find ways to overcome poor shooting, and we needed to guard better. I applaud our effort through the whole game though. We never gave up and that's something that can certainly be said about our team – they fight till the very end. We ended the game playing our best basketball, and that's what we need to start the next game doing."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Greyhounds came out firing right out of the gate, scoring the first 10 points of the game and ENMU jumped out to an early 15-2 lead. The Lion offense was sparked by Foy, who hit a three pointer and also had a fast break bucket as the Lions went on an 8-0 run of their own to cut ENMU's lead to five. The Lions cut the lead to four points in the final minute and ENMU took a 20-14 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Greyhounds again started on a tear to start the second, scoring the first eight points of the quarter to take a 28-14 lead. The Lions went on a 6-0 run of their own to close the gap. ENMU finished the quarter well as the Lions continued to struggle from the field. Going into the half, ENMU held a 37-25 lead.  
 
Foy led the Lions with eight points while Glass had seven. The Lions shot just 21 percent in the first half while ENMU shot 41 percent, including 5-of-10 from long range. The Lions were helped by eight ENMU turnovers, which resulted in nine points.
 
The teams traded baskets early in the third quarter before the Greyhounds again went on a run. This time it was a 12-1 run as the Greyhounds got to the free throw line. With four minutes to play in the quarter, the Greyhounds led by 22.

The Lions then started a rally. Free throws aided the Lion cause and Davis also had a three-point play. The Lions were able to cut the ENMU lead to 12 points before two quick ENMU baskets sent the Lions into the fourth quarter trailing 62-46.
 
The Lions hit two early threes as they cut the ENMU lead to just 11 points. The Greyhounds responded and the lead was back to 20 points with five minutes remaining. The Lions would not quit and wound up cutting the ENMU lead to just nine points with less than a minute remaining. But the Greyhounds closed out the game to get the win.