COMMERCE – In a last-minute change up to the weekend schedule, the ninth-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team travels to Wichita Falls for a Sunday afternoon showdown against the Midwestern State Mustangs.
 
WHO: A&M-Commerce at Midwestern State
WHERE: Wichita Falls | D.L. Ligon Coliseum
WHEN: 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 10
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce (4-0) and MSU (2-2) meet for a game that counts towards their non-conference slate.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce has climbed as high as No. 9 in the polls while the Mustangs are unranked.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: LSC Digital Network
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame
TICKETS: https://msuticketsonline.universitytickets.com/
 
A&M-Commerce (4-0, 4-0) is led by seventh-year head coach Jason Burton and comes off a record-setting 2019-20 season with a lions' share of firsts for the program. The defending LSC Coach of the Year and his staff led the Lions to a program-high 28-3 record along with the first 20-win Lone Star Conference season for the program. The end of this successful run is one the Lions and their fans will wonder "what could have been" after CoVID-19 brought an abrupt end to the postseason.
 
The Lions maintain a roster with a mix of new faces and experienced ones. Two returning starters are at the forefront, with a duo of double-digit scoring guards in WBCA Honorable Mention Third All-American WBCA and All-LSC Second Teamer Chania Wright, and LSC Freshman of the Year and Third Team All-Conference selection Dyani Robinson.  
 
With two starters out in last weekend's sweep of St. Mary's, A&M-Commerce never missed a beat, and saw DesiRay Kernal step up and bump her scoring average up to 16.8 points per game, which is good for fifth in the LSC standings for the season. She led the Lions on both ends of the floor and elevated the Lions to a point where they rank first in the conference in scoring offense (74.8 PPG) and second in scoring defense (57.8).
 
Midwestern State (2-2, 2-2 LSC) finished the 2019-20 campaign with an 11-16 record, 9-13 in conference play. Former assistant coach and current head coach Christopher Reay took the reigns as the interim head coach and completed the season going 4-6 down the final stretch. He has the Mustangs off to a 2-2 start, splitting each of the first two weekends of play.
 
The Mustangs are well-balanced on the scoring end of things, with three players averaging in double figures in the form of Morgan Lenahan (12.8), Shawnisay Millar (11.3) and Haevyn Risley (10.5). Risley leads the team in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game and Frances King, who flirts with double-digit scoring average at 9.8 points per game, leads the team in assists dishing out 4.8 per game.
 
A&M-Commerce and MSU are meeting for the forty-eighth time, with the Lions sweeping last year's series in dominating fashion, 107-70 (1/4/20) and 92-77 (2/13/20). The two teams had one at home and one away. This is the only game scheduled between the Lions and Mustangs this season.