SAN ANGELO – The 18^th-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team used a 16-3 fourth quarter run to pull away for an 81-67 victory at Angelo State University on Saturday afternoon in the Junell Center.
 
A&M-Commerce moves to 7-1 overall and 7-0 in the Lone Star Conference with the win, while Angelo State is now 1-5 overall and in league play.
 
The two teams will meet again at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in San Angelo to complete the LSC series.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The win was the Lions' first victory in San Angelo since 2015 and only the second in the Junell Center, which opened in spring 2002.
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) led the Lions with 21 points and added five rebounds.
- Asiyha Smith (Conway, Ark.) netted 14 points, including three key three-pointers.
- DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
- The Lions shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) in the game, including 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the second half.
 
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH MARKEITH BROWN AFTER THE GAME
Overall thoughts on the game: "Coming off a road trip like we did and coming out of quarantine, our team was a little fatigued and mentally drained, and we started off kind of slow and picked it up at the end. We played a great defensive quarter in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, we can take that fourth quarter on to tomorrow and play all four quarters like that."
 
On adjustments at halftime: "We had to be patient. We were playing too fast – we try to play fast, but we were playing too fast and not taking advantage of what they were giving us. We had to slow down, play patiently on offense, and attack the boards. When we locked in and started rebounding, we were able to get some second chance points and get to the free throw line."
 
On the play of Juliana Louis and Agang Tac: "Those young ladies are very disruptive defensively and can defend the one through the five and it gives a lot of different teams trouble and makes it hard for them to score. They do so much for us."
 
On the play of Asiyha Smith: "She hit two big threes for us. We wanted to switch it up a little and give us some more energy on the defensive end of the floor. She gave us that and knocked some big shots down."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions fell behind by six points in the early going as ASU's Sawyer Lloyd scored the home team's first eight points. A&M-Commerce fought back quickly with a seven-point run capped by a three-pointer by Smith to give the Lions a 9-8 lead with 5:14 to go in the quarter. The Rambelles scored six straight points to retake the lead, as the Lions went four minutes without scoring. TAMUC closed the quarter on consecutive baskets by Keekee Nowlin (Bryan) and Kernal to trail 16-15 after the opening period.
 
The Lions took the lead on the first possession of the second quarter before Angelo State made two straight three-pointers. The Lions used strong defense in the latter stages of the quarter to push to a halftime lead. A&M-Commerce scored the half's final six points to take a 32-29 lead into the intermission. The Lions held ASU off the scoreboard for the final 3:52 of the half as the hosts hit only 2 of 12 shots to close the period.
 
A&M-Commerce shot 41.2 percent (14-of-34) in the opening half, and Ravae Payne (Pearland) and Kernal shared the Lion scoring lead at the break with six points apiece.
 
TAMUC quickly pushed ahead to a seven-point margin on Robinson's three-point play just two minutes into the quarter. That margin was still there with 4:42 left in the quarter before Angelo State went on a 13-4 run to tie the game in the final minute and a half of the period. ASU hit a three-pointer at the horn, sending the game to the final quarter in a 51-all deadlock.
 
Angelo State regained the lead in the opening minute of the final frame, but the Lions went on a 16-3 run to blow the game open. The Lions led 68-56 with 3:48 to play on a Tac layup. Angelo State kept shooting from deep to cut the lead to single digits, but six Lion free throws in the final minute sealed the win.