COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team picked up a 69-46 win over St. Mary's on Saturday afternoon in their home opener. After a close first half, the Lions exploded in the second half to pull away for the conference win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 3-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers fall to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
 
The teams will meet again on Sunday in game two of the double header home opening weekend. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at the Field House.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- On the game: "We came out defensively and played the way we needed to play. That was big for us in today's game. We needed to be low-turnovers, we needed to guard and we needed to rebound. I thought if we did that at home, the rest would take care of itself."
- On the scoring in the post: "I thought Jordyn Beaty and DesiRay Kernal really took advantage of low post play. I thought they were both phenomenal today. We had a lot of people step up and play incredible games today."
- On the depth of the team coming in to play: "We were able to play 13 people today and nobody played over 26 minutes. We were fortunate to be able to do that with a quick turnaround tomorrow. We had some people play their first college game today, and they played with energy and confidence. I thought, especially iin the second half, there wasn't a lot of dropoff when we subbed. To have that in a game like this, a conference game of this magnitude, I'm really proud of our players and how they have bought in."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- After leading by seven at halftime, the Lions outscored the Rattlers by 15 in the third quarter and 38-22 in the second half.
- The Lions shot 40 percent from the field, including 45 percent in the second half.
- DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) led all scorers with 20 points in the game, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. She had 15 points in the second half. She also had five rebounds, tallying a team-high +27 plus/minus.
- Jordyn Beaty (Woodville) added 11 points and five rebounds, while Agang Tac (Garland - Sachse) had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Keekee Nowlin (Bryan) had eight points and led the team with five assists.
- The Lions scored 32 points in the paint, 26 points off of 19 Rattler turnovers, and 19 second-chance points with 12 offensive rebounds.
- The Lions assisted on 19 of their 25 baskets.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions were strong on the offense boards early in the game, scoring their first three baskets off of offensive rebounds, taking an early 6-2 lead. The Rattlers fought back, using a Lion cold streak to crawl back into the game, taking the lead late in the quarter. Nowlin hit a shot at the buzzer to send the teams into the second quarter tied at 11.
 
A&M-Commerce started the second quarter on a hot streak, scoring two early baskets to take a 16-11 lead. The Lions found their stroke from the field in the second quarter. After shooting just 29 percent in the first quarter, the Lions shot 44 percent in the second quarter. The Lions capitalized on five Rattler turnovers and pushed their lead to as many as eight in the quarter. A&M-Commerce led 31-24 at halftime.
 
The Lions shot 36 percent from the field in the first half, scoring 18 points in the paint and 13 second-chance points. The Lions also had 11 points off of turnovers in the half. Beaty led the team with nine points in the half. Tac added eight points and led the team with four rebounds. The team assisted on eight of their 12 field goals in the half.
 
A&M-Commerce exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Rattlers 22-7 in the quarter. Kernal had 13 points in the quarter, including the opening three of the half. The Lions hit three triples early in the quarter, as well as two three-point plays from Kernal. The Lions pushed their lead to as many as 26 in the quarter, leading 53-31 after the buzzer. A&M-Commerce shot 47 percent in the quarter, while StMU made just two field goals in the entire quarter.
 
The fourth quarter was more of the same for the Lions, as the Lion reserves continued to hit from the floor. The team shot 43 percent in the final period and assisted on all six of their field goals. The Lions led by as many as 29 late, winning their first home game of the year.