COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team defeated St. Mary's 71-49 on Sunday afternoon. Using several scoring runs throughout the contest, the Lions completed a weekend sweep of the Rattlers.
 
The win brings the Lions to 4-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers fall to 0-4 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to action on Friday as they travel to Lubbock to face Lubbock Christian. The game will be played 3:30 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME
- Thoughts on the game: "We came out of the gate and did exactly what we needed to do in the first half. We came out with a much better start offensively and defensively. I thought our attention to detail defensively in the first half was a lot better than it was yesterday. That was the difference in the game. We were       able to jump out to a nice lead and then when they made their run in the second half, we were able to sustain their runs.
- On the scoring run in the first quarter: "It started with Chania Wright finding her midrange jumper. To come out with tired legs, because I thought there were times where we didn't move with the same type of energy. I thought our bench provided a spark for us. They had opportunities for growth and development, and a lot of people stepped up."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- A&M-Commerce had several scoring runs in the first half. They had a 17-0 run in the first quarter and both a 9-0 run and an 11-0 run in the second quarter.
- DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) led all scorers with 17 points, with several and-one conversions during the game. She also led the team with four steals.
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) added 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Agang Tac (Garland – Sachse) had nine points and led the team with six rebounds.
- Asiyah Smith (Conway, Ark.)  also had nine points while Keekee Nowlin (Bryan) had seven points and six rebounds. Ravae Payne (Pearland) led the team with six assists.
- The Lions forced 25 turnovers and scored 28 points off of turnovers. The Lions had 21 turnovers in the game.
- The Lions shot 44 percent in the game, while holding St. Mary's to just 33 percent.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions started cold from the field, missing their first six shots. After the Rattlers scored the first four points of the game, the Lions found their stroke. Wright had seven points as the Lions scored 17 points in a row to take a 17-4 lead with two minutes left. StMU scored the final six points of the quarter as the Lions led 17-10 after one.
                                                                                                 
The Rattlers continued their push early in the second quarter, stretching their first quarter run to an 11-0 run to cut the Lion lead to just two points. A shot from Nowlin got the Lions back to their scoring ways. It was the start of a 9-0 run for A&M-Commerce, as the team hit seven of their next eight shots to regain a double-figure lead. It was a part of a closing 22-7 scoring differential as the Lions took a 39-22 lead into halftime.
 
Wright led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, including a pair of triples. Kernal and Nowlin each had seven points, while Smith had six. The Lions shot 50 percent from the field. The Lions capitalized on turnovers, scoring 18 of their 39 points off of giveaways. The Lions held St. Mary's to just 35 percent shooting in the first half.
 
The Lions continued their strong play coming out of halftime, using an 8-0 run to take a 51-24 lead. Kernal had two three-point plays as part of the run as she bullied her way in the paint. A&M-Commerce led by 28 at the midway mark of the quarter. The Rattlers rattled off seven points in a row to cut into the lead but the Lions led 59-37 after three quarters.
 
After scoring the first basket of the quarter, the Lions then were held scoreless for more than seven minutes as StMU went on an 8-0 run. However, the Lion defense kept the Rattlers from cutting into the lead too much and they coasted to the win.