LAREDO – The No. 5 Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team picked up a 68-39 win over A&M International on Thursday. After a sluggish start, the Lions kept their defensive pressure while finding their scoring in the second half to run away with another double-digit win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 14-0 on the season and 8-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Dustdevils fall to 7-7 on the season and 4-4 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to the court on Saturday as they travel to face A&M-Kingsville. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at the Steinke Center in Kingsville.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On getting over the hump in the second half: "We showed resolve in this game, because it was close in that first half. We were only up by five at halftime. But we held them to just five points in the third quarter defensively. That swung the game our way. I'm very proud of our team. We had some people step up."
- On the bench production: "Our bench outscored their entire team. I don't think I've ever had that happen as the head coach. It really shows the depth of this team and the quality players we have. And they don't complain about playing time or minutes. They just come out and play together. They just care about winning."
- On overcoming shooting woes: "I thought the defense was there. We held them to 20 points at halftime. But we went 1-of-15 from three in the first half. We started emphasizing going to the basket. And we shot 22 free throws in the second half. That's where a lot of our points came from."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) led the Lion attack with 11 points in the game. She also had a career-high four assists.
- Alexus Jones (Lewisville – Aledo) added nine points and four rebounds. DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) had eight points and eight rebounds.
- 11 of the 12 Lions got on the board, with seven scoring at least six points.
- The Lions shot 33 percent from the field but held TAMIU to 30 percent shooting. A&M-Commerce was 1-of-19 from behind the arc.
- The Lions had 17 offensive rebounds and also had 34 points off of 23 TAMIU turnovers.
- The Lion bench had 40 points, outscoring the entire TAMIU team.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions got off to a hot start, as their defense held TAMIU to just two points in the first five minutes of the quarter. The Lions also struggled from the field, but were able to find the offensive rebound six times in the first five minutes, and were able to convert on put backs. Midway through the quarter, the Lions led 10-2. The Dustdevils battled back to get back in the contest, as the Lions took a 13-9 lead into the quarter break.
 
The Dustdevils scored the first four points of the second quarter to tie the game once again. It continued to be a defensive battle as both teams took their first quarter shooting struggles into the second quarter. The Lions were able to convert some points from the line to preserve their lead. At halftime, the Lions led 25-20.
 
A&M-Commerce shot just 25 percent in the first half but were able to grab 13 offensive rebounds, which led to eight points for the Lions. Agang Tac was the leading scorer in the first half for the Lions with six points. Four different Lions had four rebounds in the first half.
 
The Lion defense led to offense as the Lions found their stroke in the third quarter, with many of their points coming off of turnovers. The Lions outscored TAMIU 23-5 in the quarter, shooting 60 percent in the quarter and 10-of-11 from the foul line. The Lions led 48-25 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Lions continued their strong defense and continued to score in the final period. The Lions got to the foul line at will in the final period, extending their lead to its largest point of the game, finishing with the 29-point win.