AUSTIN – The No. 12 Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated St. Edward's 80-55 on Saturday afternoon. The Lions jumped to a big lead right from the start and continued their strong play throughout the game to pick up the win.
 
The victory brings the Lions to 8-0 on the season, while St. Edward's falls to 5-2, with both of their losses coming at the hands of the Lions. The game was a non-conference game for the teams.
 
No. 12 A&M-Commerce returns to Lone Star Conference action next week as they travel to face UT Tyler. The game will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center. The game will be followed by the Lion men against the Patriots at 4 p.m.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- Thoughts on the game: "We stepped up today and put together a great road win against a good St. Edward's team. Our goal was to continue to have the great first quarters that we've been having, and not have the second quarter let down. We strung together two really good quarters in the first half and another in the third. We played a very high level of defense through three quarters, but we gave up way too many offensive rebounds in the second half. That's something we'll look to correct moving forward."
- On getting production throughout the lineup: "We had an outstanding day from our whole team. Three players neared double-doubles, four scored in double figures, with another three having nine points. Everyone scored and everyone contributed on the defensive end. It is not easy to beat a team twice, and definitely not easy to beat a team twice by double figures and we did that by a complete team effort. This team continues to make me proud."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions had four players finish in double figures, and had three other players finish with nine points.
- A&M-Commerce shot 47 percent from the field, including 57 percent in the first half. They also finished +14 on the glass.
- The Lions scored 23 points off of 17 SEU turnovers, and had 38 points off of the bench.
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) led the Lions with 11 points. Chania Wright (DeSoto), Alexus Jones (Lewisville – Aledo) and Mykiel Burleson (Pflugerville) also each finished in double figures with 10 points apiece.
- Alexis Bryant (Pflugerville), Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) and DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) all narrowly missed double-doubles, each finishing with nine points. Bryant led the team with 13 rebounds, while Louis had 10 and Kernal had eight.
- All 10 Lions who played scored at least two baskets.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hilltoppers scored the first point of the game on a free throw, before the Lions exploded for a huge run. Wright and Maddison Glass (Missouri City - Hightower) each had a pair of buckets as the Lions went on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to establish a lead. The Hilltoppers began to find some offense but still could not hold the Lions off the board. A late three from Wright sent the Lions into the second quarter with a 28-13 lead.
 
The Lions pushed their lead even higher to begin the second as a pair of early buckets gave them a 19-point lead. The Hilltoppers began to keep pace with the Lion offense, cutting the lead back to 13 points before the Lions again went on a run to end the half. Bryant had a late field goal as the Lions went into halftime leading 44-25.
 
The Lions had all 10 of their players score in the first half. Wright led all scorers with 10 points, including a pair of triples. The Lions shot 57 percent in the first half, including 65 percent in the first quarter. The Lions also had 16 points off of turnovers in the first half.
 
The Lions came out of the locker room and continued their strong play, as Bryant opened the quarter with a three-point play. Louis also had a three-point play as the Lions continued to attack the paint. The Lions pushed their lead over 30 points late in the quarter, and went into the fourth with a 67-37 lead.
 
The Hilltoppers went on an early run in the fourth quarter, going on an 11-2 run to cut the Lion lead down. However, that was as close as they would come as the Lions finished the game as well as they started it. The Lions left with the 25-point victory.