PUEBLO, Colo.– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated Colorado State-Pueblo 77-44 on Saturday evening. Behind a strong defensive performance that held the Thunderwolves to 29 percent shooting, the Lions were able to coast to victory.
 
The win brings the Lions to 2-0 on the season, their first 2-0 start since the 2012-13 campaign. CSU-Pueblo falls to 0-2 on the year, and their first ever defeat by A&M-Commerce.
 
The Lions will return to action on Thursday as they play their home opener against Ouachita Baptist. The game will be played at Noon at the Field House and will be part of Education Day, presented by Alliance Bank.
 
Season tickets for Lion Basketball games are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756 or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House during business hours.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On going 2-0 in the opening tournament: "I'm very proud of this team. We played two tough teams in Colorado and found ways to win. Tonight's win is special because we finally got over the Pueblo hump that's been plaguing us for the last four years."
- On the play of the backcourt: "Our point guard play was tremendous. Dyani [Robinson] and Maddo [Glass] played both ends of the floor at a high level, guarded the other teams' best player and combined for 30 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. They've answered the question to what we will do to replace Princess Davis."
- On the play of two newcomers: "Juliana [Louis] and DesiRay [Kernal] stepped up huge in the absence of Alexis Bryant because of fouls trouble and our wings played great with Mykiel [Burleson] being out with injury.
- On the excitement of returning home for games at the Field House: "It is fun coaching a team like this that is bought in. They want to get better and they continue to find ways to do that, from the first practice to now. Now we have to keep building on the little things. We're excited to come home to four games in a row in the Field House and play in front of our home crowd."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress - Langham Creek) led all scorers with 18 points in the game, netting six of her 10 shots from the field. She also had five rebounds and four steals.
- Maddison Glass (Missouri City – Hightower) had 12 points and had a team-high six assists to go with four steals.
- Alexis Bryant (Pflugerville) had 10 points while Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) neared a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
- The Lions shot 46 percent in the game and held CSU-Pueblo to just a 29.4 percent shooting clip.
- After scoring nine points in the first three minutes, CSU-Pueblo was held to 35 points over the final 37 minutes of the game.
- The Lions forced 28 turnovers in the game, scoring 23 points off of giveaways, and also had 42 points in the paint.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Thunderwolves got off to a hot start, scoring the first nine points of the game over a three-minute span. From that point on, the Lions took control and never relented. Seven different Lions scored in the opening period, as the Lions went on a 14-2 run of their own over the next seven minutes to take control of the game. At the first quarter break, A&M-Commerce led 16-13.
 
CSU hit consecutive threes to take the lead back at the start of the second quarter before the Lions fought back. Robinson hit a pair of layups and a three-pointer as A&M-Commerce proceeded to build their lead to 33-23 with two minutes remaining in the half. A late bucket at the buzzer sent the Lions into halftime with a 35-24 advantage.
 
Robinson had 11 points in the first half, while Louis had five points and seven rebounds. The Thunderwolves had 19 turnovers in the first half.
 
The Lion shooting caught fire in the second half, as A&M-Commerce shot better than 50 percent. On the flip side, things went cold for the Thunderwolves, as CSU-Pueblo shot just 21 percent over the final 20 minutes. After cutting the Lion lead to single digits early in the quarter, A&M-Commerce quickly built their lead back up, as Louis and Robinson helped the Lions push their lead to 18 points at the end of the third quarter. A&M-Commerce led 53-35 heading into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter was lopsided in favor of the Lions, as A&M-Commerce outscored CSU-Pueblo 24-9 in the quarter. The Lions could seemingly do no wrong, as they pushed their lead to as many as 34 in the game.