SAN ANGELO – The No. 18 Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team scored the final seven points of the game to pull out a 71-66 win over Angelo State University in the Junell Center on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Lions move to 8-1 overall and 8-0 in Lone Star Conference play, while Angelo State falls to 1-6 overall and in league play. This marks a three-game winning streak against ASU for the third time in A&M-Commerce history, and the third Lion win ever at the Junell Center.
 
A&M-Commerce will play a North Division series against Texas Woman's University next week, starting with a home game at 5 p.m. Thursday.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 40.0 percent (26-of-65) in the game compared to 46.0 percent (29-of-63) for Angelo State, but had key advantages in rebounding and free throws. A&M-Commerce had a 47-32 rebounding edge and made 14 free throws to the Rambelles' two.
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) led all scorers with 22 points and also had six rebounds and three assists.
- DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) scored 13 points and had nine rebounds. She had a key three-pointer and free throws in the final minutes of the contest.
- Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) earned a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Lions converted 20 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points.
 
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH MARKEITH BROWN AFTER THE GAME
On holding off the ASU comeback: "We're confident in what we do, and we know basketball is a game of runs. We knew they would make a run at us. But we were diligent, stuck to the game plan, and prevailed. The defense on that last possession showed that defense and rebounding were the key."
 
On the key interior play from both teams: "Yesterday we had 50 points in the paint and I knew that would be a focal point for them today. They really stacked the paint today, but we were diligent about putting the ball back in the paint and rebounding. We had 20 offensive rebounds and that gave us 19 second chance points and that put us over the hump."
 
On the scoring of Dyani Robinson: "She is special and she's letting the world know she's special. She's going to continue to do that and get her due."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a slow start Saturday, the Lions exhibited no such delay on Sunday, quickly jumping out to a 6-0 lead on baskets from Kernal, Ravae Payne (Pearland), and Louis, with a pair of steals aiding in the early lead. Robinson scored four straight points later in the period and the Lions took a 21-10 lead after the first quarter thanks to 58.8 percent shooting (10-of-17) in the period.
 
The Lions saw their lead shrink to four points during the second quarter, as A&M-Commerce missed six straight shots at one point while Angelo State made consecutive three-pointers. TAMUC answered with five straight points to push the lead back out to nine points. Louis scored the final three points of the half and Angelo State did not score in the final 2:13 of the period, allowing the Lions to take a 35-26 halftime lead.
 
At the break, A&M-Commerce had made 15-of-35 shots (42.9 percent), but only 27.8 percent (5-of-18) in the second quarter. Robinson led all scorers in the half with 13 points, while Louis had six points and seven rebounds.
 
The Rambelles were the hot-shooting team in the third quarter, as the home team made 9-of-14 shots in the frame compared to 5-of-15 from A&M-Commerce.  Because of that shooting differential, the Lions' lead shrunk to three points on three different occasions. The Lions led 48-45 with 10 minutes to play.
 
In the fourth quarter, Angelo State quickly tied the game for the first time since the tip, but the Lions were able to push the lead back out to six points after consecutive baskets by Agang Tac (Sachse) just before the midway point of the quarter. The Rambelles were able to take the lead after a pair of consecutive three-pointers, and the hosts had a two-point lead with 1:21 to play.
 
Kernal erased the lead with a three-pointer and strong Lion defense down the stretch kept Angelo State off the board. Kernal and Louis each made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the weekend sweep for the Lions.