Box Score AUSTIN – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team used a 14-0 run in the second quarter to coast to a 73-62 win over St. Edward's University on Saturday afternoon, starting the season 2-0 in Lone Star Conference action.

The Lions will take time off for the holiday break before their first home games against St. Mary's on January 2 and 3, 2021.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
 
On how he felt his team played: "They are a good ball club. I thought we kind of fell asleep in the fourth quarter and just assumed we would win the game, and left the door open for them to come back but we finished it out. It is tough to play two games in 24 hours basically. And two games against the same opponent. But we did a good job on finishing out this weekend."
 
On what St. Edward's did differently from one game to the next: "The only thing they really did differently was they stopped pressing. They forced us to execute in the half court. I don't think we did a great job of executing in the half court. We forced them into turnovers and scored some easy baskets that way, but we did not run our stuff exactly the way we wanted to do it. They kept their people back and forced us into some more difficult shots today."
 
On Dyani Robinson's performance: "She was the MVP of our tournament out in Colorado last year, and she stepped into that role again today and did a great job. Not only of getting us into our stuff, but scoring the ball at a high level, and then playing defense. She was playing full court defense the entire time she was in the game and had five steals in the game – I am sure that is a career high – and really did a good job of carrying this team."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions (2-0, 2-0 LSC) were led on the stat sheet by Dyani Robinson (Cypress - Langham Creek) who had a career-day with her 23 points and five steals to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
- Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) was the only other Lion to score in double figures, adding 14 points and nearly had a double-double with eight rebounds. Agang Tac (Sachse) led the team in rebounds with nine.
- A&M-Commerce was out-shot by St. Edwards (0-2, 0-2 LSC) 47-percent to 40-percent despite the Hilltoppers taking 16 fewer shots in the game.
- The Lions managed to out-rebound the Hilltoppers by a count of 41-29, went 16-of-22 from the free throw line, while dishing out 10 assists and coming out with 15 takeaways.
- Both second chance points and points off the bench were dominating for the Lions over the Hilltoppers, outpacing SEU 19-6, and 17-7, respectively.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defense is the name of the game for A&M-Commerce. When the Lions took the court, it would be suffocating defense with two steals from Louis and five offensive rebounds which propelled them on a 9-2 game-opening run. The Hilltoppers would stop the bleeding and proceed to retake the lead with a 12-2 run, taking the 14-12 lead with under three minutes to go in the first quarter. This included a scoring drought of just over three minutes for the Lions.
 
Four made free throws and stifling defense turned the game back in A&M-Commerce's favor as the first quarter turned to the second with the Lions ahead, 17-14. The Lions forced five Hilltoppers turnovers in the final three minutes, giving them 10 total in the first ten minutes of the ballgame.
 
Robinson would put the team on her back in the first half with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes (10 in the second quarter), including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line to help the Lions build their lead at the half, 39-24. She also had two boards and a steal to fuel the road team's 14-0 run. The Lions shot just 28 percent in the first quarter, but raised their first half shooting percentage to 42.9 percent while holding St. Edward's to just two points in nearly the last three minutes of the half.
 
The scoring success continued into the second half, as the Lions went on a quick 6-0 run early in the third. To this point in the game, A&M-Commerce has managed 10 swipes in the game, six blocks and 14 offensive rebounds. The Lions and Hilltoppers both struggled offensively as the road team committed five turnovers and the home team went scoreless for over two minutes of game action after the media timeout. The third quarter came to a close with a 58-42 lead for A&M-Commerce.
 
In the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, the Lions outscored the Hilltoppers, 8-3. St. Edwards would proceed to close the gap with a 6-0 run and a five-plus minute made field goal drought before A&M-Commerce would finish off the game strong to claim a victory for the Lions.