LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Trailing 44-38 with three minutes left in the third quarter, the Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team went on a 29-4 run over a span of 10 minutes against Colorado State-Pueblo to win 74-68 over the Thunderwolves in the season opening game at the CCU Event Center on Friday afternoon.

"That was a great win against a great team! Alisha Davis is a beast for them and demands so much attention but in the second half, we adjusted and did a better job containing her," said Coach Jason Burton. 

"I'm proud of how our team handled the adversities we faced today. We responded well to those, being down on the road is always tough, but mix in the altitude and it gets really tough. It took our entire team to come in and play well for us to win. They trusted each other, they trusted the game plan, and they never stopped playing hard. We need to clean up the mental mistakes we made down the stretch and our turnovers, but I love this team we have. It's only up from here." 

"Now the challenge of a quick turnaround. We face a team with a new coach and new players and all the prep has to be done in the hotel in less than 24 hours. They will be well coached and have the luxury of playing at home. We have to find a way to bring back two wins to Texas," concluded Burton. 
 
The Lions jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by a steal by Laila Lawrence (Lewisville), who passed to Dyani Robinson (Langham Creek), who hit a fastbreak layup. The Thunderwolves went on a 13-0 run in a span of four minutes to take a 15-8 lead.
 
Robinson led the team with 27 points, two shy of her career high. She knocked down 11 of her 13 free-throw attempts. The Lions shot 37.1 percent from the field and 88 percent from the charity stripe in the game.
 
CSU-Pueblo ended the first quarter on a 19-8 run to lead 21-16 after the first 10 minutes.
 
DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) scored the first four points of the second quarter to pull the Lions to within 21-20 and forced the Thunderwolves to use their first timeout. Asiyha Smith (Conway, Ark.) helped the Lions take the lead by going on a personal 5-0 run.
 
Kernal had 15 points on 4 for 8 shooting and 7 for 8 shooting from the free-throw line. She led the team with eight rebounds, Robinson had six. Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) had five rebounds.
 
The Lions outscored the Thunderwolves, 17-14 in the second quarter to trail 35-33 at the half.
 
A&M-Commerce went on a 29-9 run in a span of 11 minutes in the second half to take a 67-51 lead. The Lions shot 9 for 13 from the field during the run and 9 for 10 from the free throw line and held CSU-Pueblo to shoot 3 for 15 from the field. Robinson had 14 of the 29 points.
 
Despite trailing by its biggest margin of the game, the Thunderwolves bounced back with a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to pull to 71-66. The Lions had only three field goal attempts in the stretch, while the Thunderwolves shot 5 for 7 from the field.
 
Tomia Johnson knocked down two free-throws to cut it to 72-68. After a timeout by the Lions, the Thunderwolves stole the inbound pass and had a clear look at a three-pointer which bounced off the rim. Robinson knocked down both free-throws on the other end to seal the game.
 
Chania Wright (DeSoto) had nine points in the game and three rebounds. Ravae Payne (Pearland) had eight points on 3 for 4 shooting, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc. Kernal and Louis had three assists each. Five different Lions had a steal each.
 
UP NEXT
The Lions remain in Lakewood to face the hosts, Colorado Christian, on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. mountain standard time.