LAWTON, Okla. – The No. 17 Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team rolled to a decisive division-opening victory over the Cameron Aggies on Thursday evening, 89-71.  
 
The win improved the Lions to an overall record of 5-1, 5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Cameron falls to 3-3, 3-3 in the LSC.
 
There will be a rematch between the Lions and Aggies on Saturday. This time the showdown will take place at the Field House in Commerce.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On the team's performance:  "We came out the first half and followed the game plan to a "T". They came out in a 1-3-1 and that was unexpected. Kudos to them for trying something different. Offensively we did a really good job of handling something we were not expecting and still found ways to score. Defensively in the second half we just stopped playing defense and it was an offensive battle. Last game it was first to 80 wins, and luckily tonight we got to 80 first."

- On having the team all together: "We had two players who have not played in a couple weeks come in and make a huge impact. And Faith Bland, who really has not played at all, because of the foul trouble in the first half and the matchups played really well. I thought she had a chance to really come on to the floor and make a difference for us and she played big in the minutes she was in the game. For Dyani to be out for so long, to be 10-for-10 from the free throw line with five assists and one turnover. She really ran the show and played offense and defense at a high level. She also got some big timely baskets. Then Juliana, who was on a minute restriction, played less than 12 minutes and had nine points and seven rebounds. You can tell it is a different team when we have all our team out there on the floor. "
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress - Langham Creek) returned to action and not miss a beat, matching her season-high in points with 23. She also led the team with five assists. Robinson is the seventh player in Division II this season to go 100% from the foul line with 10 or more makes (10-for-10).
- DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) continued her season's success putting in 16 points on her birthday while flirting with a double-double, grabbing eight rebounds. Chania Wright (DeSoto) was the only other Lion who scored in double figures with 10 of her own.
- Agang Tac (Sachse) had her second consecutive game with eight points. A group of three other Lions also scored between seven and nine points, including Asiyah Smith (Conway, Ark.) with seven, Jordyn Beaty (Woodville) with eight, and Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) with nine.
- The Lions out-shot the Aggies from the field, making 44.4 percent of their field goals to the Aggies' 38.7 percent. Both squads got to the free throw line at a high rate but it was A&M-Commerce who went 21-of-27 for 78-percent over the 61-percent from Cameron.
- Turnovers were key as they are in all Lion games, as the Lions scored 18 points off turnovers while Cameron got just six of its own.
- The Lions won the rebounding battle 46-39. A&M-Commerce had a double-digit advantage in both second chance points (20-10) and points in the paint (50-34).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Robinson put A&M-Commerce on the scoreboard first with two made free throws to start a Lion scoring barrage. The Lions would start the game on a tear, going on a 16-0 scoring run led by five points from Kernal heading into the first media timeout. The Aggies would not score their first points until the 4:47 mark in the opening quarter. After the media timeout, Cameron would outscore the Lions 13-9 but it was the road team who held the commanding 25-13 lead after one quarter of play.
 
After Kernal made a free throw to open the second quarter, Louis helped extend the Lion lead to 40-19 in the frame, which was a game-high to this point after the media timeout. Beaty began to emerge as an offensive threat with eight first half points as the quarter was drawing to a close, and A&M-Commerce owned the 43-24 lead at halftime.
 
At the half, the Lions led by 19 and it was in large part to stifling defense and efficient shooting from the floor, shooting 44.4 percent. A&M-Commerce was led at the half in scoring with the eight from Beaty. Robinson was not far behind with six, four of which came from the free throw line. To this point, the road team owned the rebound advantage (25-22) and points off turnovers was in the favor of the Lions, 11-4.
 
As the second half began, the Lions hit an early basket from Tac, but the offense would proceed to turn the ball over three times in two minutes while also forcing the Aggies to go 0-for-4 from the field. The Aggies proceeded to cut into the A&M-Commerce lead with a 10-4 run, hitting three consecutive baskets in the process, making it a 47-34 game with 6:20 to go in the third quarter. After missing six of seven shots, the Lion offense picked up steam from that point to end of the quarter. After the media timeout, it was the Aggies who went on a 21-8 run to bring the lead down to as little as eight points. Defense was then able to lead to offense for A&M-Commerce, resulting in four of five possessions ending in points for the Lions. A&M-Commerce went into the fourth quarter with a 59-47 lead.
 
Heading into the final frame, a pair of three-pointers and aggressive defense led to an 11-7 scoring advantage in the early part of the frame, extending the lead to as many as 16 in that time frame. Physical play dominated the game, and that showed as both teams entered the bonus prior to the first media break of the quarter. After the media timeout, both teams hit their shots at a high rate but A&M-Commerce made three straight baskets and never allowed the Aggies to make another move to threaten the lead. A&M-Commerce played with the determination to close the Lion way.