COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated Cameron 91-58 on Thursday evening. The Lions jumped out early on the Aggies and never looked back.
 
The win propels the Lions to 14-7 on the season and 9-4 in the Lone Star Conference. The Aggies fall to 7-14 and 4-9 in conference play.
 
The Lions remain home on Saturday to host the MSU Texas Mustangs. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at the Field House. The game will be followed by the Lion men versus the Mustangs. The doubleheader is part of "Fill The Field House" presented by the Enrollment Management Division. Admission to the game will be free of charge. 
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
On the team attacking the paint early and often: "We really need to take care of home court and we did that handily tonight. I'm really proud of the play I saw from the get-go. We wanted to attack the paint and Kate and Alexis had their way in the first half. And our guards did a really good job of feeding them. When Lex and Kate are as good in the paint as they were today, we are a really good basketball team."
On the rebounding effort: "I looked at the stats at halftime and we hadn't given up a single offensive rebound. That's a special stat. I don't know if that has ever been done in my time here. Normally they will get a team rebound or something. To not give up one single offensive rebound, that lets you know how well we were playing on the defensive side of the ball. Chania Wright was our leading rebounder with 12. She's usually the smallest person on the floor and she was going at the boards hard. She did a great job."
What this victory means: "To respond after a loss with a game like this, it lets you know we are still confident. Sometimes you don't know how your team will respond as you get deeper into LSC play. But we continued to stay focused on the prize and the goals that we have. We are chasing the NCAA Tournament and a top finish in the LSC standings. That's what we want. To do that, we have to take care of home court."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Ekaterina Zhibareva (Liske, Russia) led the Lions with 17 points in the game. She finished just one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards.
- Princess Davis (Shreveport, La.) had 16 points and seven assists.
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) had 13 points and had a double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds.
- Alexis Bryant (Pflugerville) added 12 points. Mykiel Burleson (Pflugerville) also made her way into double digits scoring with 11 points.
- The Lions shot 49 percent in the game, including 55 percent in the first half. The Lions also shot 36 percent from three in the game.
- The Lion defense held the Aggies to just 38 percent shooting for the game.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions got off to a sizzling start, taking an early 18-5 lead before the four-minute mark even occurred. Bryant had nine early points in the paint to expand the Lions lead. Cameron cut into the lead, but the Lions kept a comfortable lead after the first quarter, leading 23-12. The Lions shot a very efficient 67 percent in the quarter. 
 
The Lions started hot in the second quarter, extending their lead to 31-15 with Wright scoring five quick points in the quarter to help the Lions. Cameron struggled to cut into the Lion lead as Zhibareva scored six points in the quarter. Davis also scored four points in the quarter and carved the Aggies defense apart, leading fast break after fast break. The Lions took a 41-24 lead going into half.
 
Zhibareva and Bryant both led the Lions with 10 points in the half. Davis added nine points and Burleson had seven. The Lion defense held the Aggies to just 36 percent shooting in the half.
 
The Lions, just like they did in the first half, started the second half on a tear. They went on a 15-0 run to extend the lead to 56-27. Zhibareva led the Lions in the third, scoring six points as the took a 28-point lead going into the fourth.

The Lions extended their big lead to 33 to conclude the game at 91-58. Jocelyn Pierce (Argyle) was very efficient in the fourth with eight points on 1-3 shooting and 6-7 from the free throw line.