KINGSVILLE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville 91-57 on Thursday night. The Lions caught fire from the field in the second half to win in a commanding fashion.
 
The win brings the Lions to 13-6 on the season and 8-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The Javelinas fall to 8-10 and 5-6 in conference play. The Lions swept the season series against the Javelinas, winning both games by more than 30 points each.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday as they travel to San Angelo to face No. 20 Angelo State. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at the Junell Center.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions scored 38 points in the third quarter, the second most in a single quarter in program history.
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) led the Lions with 19 points, all of which came in the second half. She went 5-of-6 from behind the arc in the second half.
- Princess Davis (Shreveport, La.) had 14 points and led the team with five assists.
- Ekaterina Zhibareva (Liske, Russia) had 12 points in the game and also had six rebounds. Alexus Jones (Lewisville - Aledo) also scored in double figures with 11 points.
- Mykiel Burleson (Pflugerville) led the team with nine rebounds and also had seven points. Delyssa Miller (Arlington - Homeschool) had eight points and seven rebounds.
- The Lions shot 40 percent in the game, while shooting 48 percent in the second half. The Lions shot 60 percent from three in the second half.
- The Lions forced 24 turnovers which led to 27 points. The Lions also had 46 points in the paint.

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On the win: "I'm proud of my ladies. This is not an easy place to play. They were with us back and forth in that first quarter. In the second quarter, our defense picked up a little bit. But we didn't make a three in the first half. To have what I thought were some wide open threes not go in, to still go into the half up 12 I felt good. But the second half, we kept focused and shots fell."
 On the team's big third quarter: "Chania had a big third quarter, as well as everyone else. We went 7-of-9 from three. And our defense pretty much stayed the same but offensively, we picked it up and played how we are capable of playing. And we were able to pull away."
 On getting everyone into the game: "It was good to see everybody get some minutes and not run anybody too ragged. Because we have a big one on Saturday. If you can get that first win on Thursday and not wear anybody out, that's big for the next game."
On the upcoming game against Angelo State: "We know what's at stake against them. You go back to our last game against them and look at the first quarter, we had too many turnovers in that first quarter and we couldn't overcome that. The game plan is to come out of that first quarter neck-and-neck or winning that quarter. And we need to take care of the basketball."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions started cold from the field, missing their first seven shots from the field. The Lion defense held the Javelinas in check early as well. The Lions began to attack the paint as Davis hit two early shots. Midway through, the teams were tied at eight. The Lions took their first lead with three minutes as both teams traded buckets in the final minutes. The Lions took a 15-14 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Lions started the second half on a tear, scoring the first 10 points of the quarter. Offensive rebounds helped the Lion cause as both Agang Tac (Garland - Sachse) and Alexis Bryant (Pflugerville) had putback shots. Zhibareva also got into the scoring, netting a three-point play. The Lions took a 12-point lead midway through the half. The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half. The Lions led 33-22 entering halftime.
 
Zhibareva led the Lions with nine points in the first half, while also pulling in four rebounds. Davis had six points. Maddison Glass (Missouri City - Hightower) had four rebounds and led the defense with two steals. Both teams shot 32 percent in the first half. The Lions got to the foul line 13 times in the half and also pulled in 12 offensive rebounds.
 
The Lion offense exploded in the third quarter, more than doubling their first-half scoring output. The Lions opened the quarter with four triples, including two from Wright as she found her stroke. The teams traded baskets for several minutes before another barrage of threes came from the Lions. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Lions had a 20-point lead. It would not stop there. Miller had a three-point play as the Lions continued to pull ahead. A buzzer beater three from Wright sent the Lions into the fourth with a 71-41 lead.
 
The Lions continued to score at will early in the fourth, pushing their lead to as many as 36 before inserting the reserves. The Lion bench also continued to shoot well and the Lions left with the 34-point win.