Box Score COMMERCE – The No. 19 Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team held off a hungry Arkansas-Fort Smith team to earn a 76-70 victory on Tuesday night.  
 
The win improves the Lions' overall record to 6-1 with an undefeated 6-0 mark in the Lone Star Conference. UAFS fell to 2-5 overall with an identical record in conference play.

This was the first of a three-game homestand in which the Lions will turn around and host UT Tyler on Friday and Saturday.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) led A&M-Commerce in scoring on the night, tying her season-high in points with 18 to go along with four assists. She went 4-for-9 from behind the arc. Her six steals ties her career-high which was set at Texas Woman's on Dec. 19, 2019.
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress - Langham Creek) was second on the team with 13 points while Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) posted her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
- TAMUC earned a better shooting percentage from the floor (25-of-56, 44.6 percent) than UAFS (25-of-66, 37.9 percent) as well as a season best from three point range (7-of-14, 50 percent) and a notable free throw percentage of 90.5, converting 19-of-21.
- Turnovers abounded for both teams, with UAFS turning the ball over 18 times leading to 17 Lion points and TAMUC giving the ball up on 22 occasions and giving up 22 points off those miscues.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The start of the game was marked by TAMUC turnovers and an 8-1 run by Arkansas-Fort Smith within the first two and a half minutes. Five of the first 11 points for A&M-Commerce came from the charity stripe as the turnovers kept the blue and gold from attempting quality shots early. The offense overcame the cool start on the court to outscore the visitors 10-9 the rest of the way. Paige Elston wrapped up the quarter for UAFS with a jumper with eight seconds left and the guests led after one quarter, 17-11.

The second quarter was another story for the home Lion team completely. A 12-3 run by TAMUC was fueled by three-pointers from Wright, as well as a basket and two made free throws from Louis. At the end of the half it was A&M-Commerce with all of the momentum, outscoring UAFS 19-7 in the second frame.

At the half A&M-Commerce led 30-24, with Wright (8), Kernal (7) and Louis (6) leading the home team in scoring. Both Louis and Jordyn Beaty (Woodville) were productive on the boards with six rebounds each.

UAFS came out of the locker room for the third quarter with a 6-0 run through the first minute and a half, tying the game 30-30. Agang Tac (Sachse) quieted the visitor's bench with a basket after an offensive rebound from DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) as the home Lions retook the lead and stopped the run. It was a quarter of runs as TAMUC went on a 11-4 run of its own heading into the media timeout to take a 41-34 lead at that point. The lead for A&M-Commerce hovered around two possessions until a pair of steals and efficient offensive possessions late in the quarter resulted in a 56-45 A&M-Commerce lead with 10 minutes to play.

In the fourth quarter, UAFS opened on an 8-0 run before Wright put in six straight points to reestablish the lead for A&M-Commerce at 62-55 with 6:50 to play. When the visiting Lions attempted to cut into the lead, TAMUC never let up and the two squads traded baskets until the end, finishing with a final score of 76-70 in favor of A&M-Commerce.