WICHITA FALLS– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated MSU Texas 70-57 on Thursday night. The Lions pulled ahead early in the game and did not trail after the first quarter.
 
The win brings the Lions to 7-4 on the season and 2-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 3-7 and 0-3 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday with a road matchup against Cameron. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at Aggie Gym in Lawton, Okla.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) led the team with 17 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. She also had five boards and three assists.
- Princess Davis (Shreveport, La.) had 12 points and led the team with five assists. Alexis Bryant (Pflugerville) led the team with nine boards and had 11 points.
- Mykiel Burleson (Pflugerville) had eight rebounds and Ekaterina Zhibareva (Liske, Russia) had eight points and five rebounds.
- The Lions shot 36 percent in the game and held MSU to just 30 percent shooting. The Lions got to the foul line 25 times in the contest.
- The Lions scored 42 points in the paint and held a 29-9 advantage in fast break points.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On the win on the road: "It's a great win. Anytime you can win by double figures, that's special. That's something we challenged them to do, is to come out and get a lead and maintain it. When you look at it, the game was pretty even. We came out and took care of business in the first quarter and did a tremendous job from the start."
- On the play of Alexis Bryant: "I think that this was Alexis Bryant's best game as a Lion. I thought she was very good in the paint, being straight up defensively – I thought she played great post defense. Offensively, she was scoring and was the Alexis Bryant we see all the time in practice. She was very efficient in the paint and did a great job for us today."
- On the evolution of the offense: "I think we're getting a lot better when a team presses us. We're taking advantage of 3-on-2's and 2-on-1's. Early in the season, we would back out and try to run offense instead of using those numbers. The third quarter was our best quarter because we got to the bonus early by attacking."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams scored on their opening possession but both teams struggled from the field in the early stages of the game. The Lions scored two points over a four-minute stretch, allowing MSU to get out to a 10-6 lead. The Lions finished the quarter on a tear however. The Lions finished the quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 19-10 lead into the quarter break.
 
The Lions pushed their run to 15-unanswered, scoring the first bucket of the second quarter. The teams traded early baskets, with the Lions holding an 11-point lead with seven minutes left. The Mustangs then went on a 5-0 run to cut the Lion lead to six points. Both teams went cold for a two-minute stretch before a late run from the Lions built their lead again. A late three from MSU sent the Lions into halftime with a 34-26 lead.
 
Bryant led the team with seven points at the half. Alexus Jones added six points and two assists. Burleson led the team with three assists. The Lions shot well inside, scoring 24 of their 34 first-half points inside the paint. The Lions also got to the line nine times in the first half, making seven from the line.
 
The Mustangs cut into the Lion lead to six points early in the second half before the Lions again went on a run. This one was an 11-2 run, giving the Lions their largest lead of the ball game, a 47-32 lead. The Lions did their damage from the foul line in the quarter. The Mustangs made a few buckets in a row to end the quarter with the Lions leading 49-40.
 
Both teams were scoreless in the first two minutes of the quarter before the Lions extended their lead again to double digits. Davis scored the first five points for the Lions as she brought her scoring total to double figures. After the Mustangs went on a run to cut the lead down again, Wright caught fire. She scored 10 points in the quarter as the Lions held off any MSU run, winning the game.