COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team has started the season 7-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Lions are ranked No. 3 and No. 5 in the two national polls and welcome Oklahoma Christian to the Field House on Saturday afternoon.
 
WHO: Oklahoma Christian at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Field House
WHEN: Saturday, December 11, 2 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 7-0 overall, the Eagles are 0-6.     
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is ranked No. 3 in the D2SIDA poll and No. 5 in the WBCA poll.
 
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/tamuc/ 
LIVE STATS: http://statb.us/b/376517
TICKETS: https://lionathletics.com/tickets
GAME NOTES
 
FREE T-SHIRTS & IPAD GIVEAWAY
• Texas A&M-Commerce Students that are register for Spring 2022 classes by Saturday's Lion Basketball games will receive a FREE T-Shirt and be entered into the drawing for a FREE iPad.
• Academic Advisers will be in the Field House to answer any questions and assist with registration process.
• All students must Check-In at the gate to receive drawing ticket and t-shirt.
• Winner of the iPad giveaway will be announced during Halftime of the men's game.
• Must be present to win
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• The Eagles are winless on the season, having lost all six games. The Lions and the Eagles have common opponent thus far: Southeastern Oklahoma State.
• Oklahoma Christian has faced Midwestern State and Texas Woman's in non-conference portion of the schedule. After Saturday's game, the Lions' next two opponents are Midwestern State and Texas Woman's.
• The Eagles are averaging 63.5 points per game, while grabbing 36.8 rebounds per game. Kate Bradley (15.5) and Brooklin Bain (14.2) lead the team in scoring.
 
QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• A&M-Commerce is off to a 7-0 start for the second time in three seasons and ranked No. 3/5 in the two national polls. The No. 3 ranking in the D2SIDA poll ties the program's ranking in the poll.
• The Lions played just one game this past week, a home win over SAGU. The Lion bench scored 56 points in the game, led by Mia Deck's 18.
• A&M-Commerce is grabbing 48.6 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the country and their scoring average of 83 points per game is seventh.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
• In four meetings between the two teams, the Lions are undefeated. Since OC joining the LSC, A&M-Commerce is 3-0 against Oklahoma Christian.
• A&M-Commerce won 77-63 in the last meeting in the quarterfinal round of the LSC Tournament last season.
• In the three meetings since the Eagles left the Heartland Conference, the Lions have won the three games by an average margin of 19 points.
 
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
• The Lions are ranked No. 3 in this week's D2SIDA Poll, which is tied for the program's ranking in the poll in program history.
• During the 2019-20 season, the Lions were No. 3 in the poll multiple times.
 
STARTING OUT STRONG
• A&M-Commerce's 7-0 start to the season is the second time in three seasons that the Lions have started 6-0 or better.
 
Among Nation's Best
• The Lions are in top-10 in rebounding and scoring offense.
• A&M-Commerce is grabbing 48.6 rebounds per game which is fourth in the country and scoring 83 points per game, which is seventh.
 
Reaching the Century Mark
• A&M-Commerce scored 100 points against the SAGU Lions on Monday, second time in three games.
• This is the first time since 2015-16 that the Lions have reached the century mark in two games in a season.
• The Lions have never scored 100 points or more in three games or more in program history.
• Entering the season, they had only scored 100 points or more eight times.
 
EVERYONE SCORES AGAINST THE BLOSSOMS
• All 14 Lions that dressed in the game against Arkansas-Monticello, scored at least two points in the win.
 
BEEN A WHILE
• Saturday's game is the first home of the season and fifth of the season, which is the longest stretch away from the Field House to start the season since 2010-11, A&M-Commerce's first home game was the seventh game of the season.
 
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE
• The Lions are picked second in the preseason LSC poll.
 
FIRST WIN IN ARKADELPHIA
• The Lions won their first game at Ouachita Baptist earlier this season, their first win on the road against the Tigers in program history. The Lions were 0-4 entering this season.
 
40 UNDER 40
• Coach Jason Burton has been named to Dave Campbell's Texas Basketball's 40 Under 40 list this preseason. The all-time wins leader in his eighth year the helm of the Lion Women's basketball program.
 
BATTLE-TESTED PRESEASON
• Prior to the start of the regular season, the Lions took on three Division I teams in exhibition games at Baylor, SMU, and Houston.
 
TOUGH TEST IN THE ROCKIES
• A&M-Commerce began the season in Colorado against two RMAC teams, including Colorado State-Pueblo, who has a win over No. 1 Lubbock Christian.
 
MAKING DANCING A HABIT
• A&M-Commerce has advanced to the postseason three years in a row. 
 
RARIFIED AIR
• TAMUC goes into the 2021-22 season with three players minted as WBCA All-Americans in Chania Wright, DesiRay Kernal, and Dyani Robinson.
 
2020-21 POSTSEASON RECOGNITION
All-LSC Recognition:
1st Team - Dyani Robinson & DesiRay Kernal
3rd Team - Juliana Louis & Chania Wright
Honorable Mention - Agang Tac
All-Defensive - Juliana Louis
 
RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN
• This season is the first full season since the Lions managed to set records for wins in a season (28), regular season wins (26), conference victories (20), consecutive wins (25), scoring margin (+18.4), lowest scoring defense (56.8) and highest national ranking (3rd) in 2019-20
 
LSC RECOGNITION
• Jason Burton was named the LSC Coach of the Year after guiding the Lions to the No. 1 seed in the LSC and a program-record 26 regular season wins and 20 conference wins.
• During the 2019-20 season, he became the All-time leader in wins in program history. He is the 4th coach in program history to earn Coach of the Year honors.
 
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COMMERCE ACCEPTS INVITATION TO SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
• The Southland Conference, following the unanimous approval of its presidential Board of Directors, has extended an invitation of membership to Texas A&M University-Commerce, the league and institution announced Tuesday morning.  The university, a longstanding NCAA Division II power located an hour east of Dallas, will officially join the Southland on July 1, 2022, and begin a four-year transition into Division I at the same time.
• Touting a "Best in Class" mission, mentality, and experience, Lions' athletics features sponsorship of 14 varsity sports, including men's sports of football, basketball, golf, cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field.  Women's sports include basketball, golf, soccer, softball, volleyball, cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field.
The Lions have seen remarkable success in recent years, including winning the 2017 NCAA Division II Football National Championship, highlighting five consecutive postseason football berths since 2015.  Overall, 53 A&M-Commerce athletic teams have earned NCAA postseason bids since 2015, including a record 11 teams in 2018-19.  Other performance highlights include individual NCAA track and field national championships, an NCAA softball regional championship, and multiple recent NCAA berths in volleyball, and men's and women's basketball.
• In addition to its 2017 NCAA title, the Lions' football program also won the 1972 NAIA national championship.  Other national championships have included men's basketball (NAIA 1954-55), men's golf (NAIA 1965) and men's tennis (NAIA 1972 and 1978).  Prominent student-athletes at A&M-Commerce have included NFL stars Harvey Martin, Wade Wilson and Dwight White, and noted U.S. Olympic medalist John Carlos.
• Founded in 1889, Texas A&M-Commerce serves rural and urban Northeast Texas with distinction, consistently delivering on a promise that founder Professor William Leonidas Mayo made more than a century ago: "No industrious, ambitious youth shall be denied an education if I can prevent it."  To this day, the institution remains committed to its core mission: "Educate. Discover. Achieve."
• Formerly known as East Texas State University, the 2,100-acre Commerce campus provides many opportunities for students to learn and grow. The university offers more than 135 degree programs at the bachelor's, masters and doctoral levels. A vibrant student life experience includes 14 competitive NCAA athletic teams, a thriving Greek system and more than 120 student organizations. Programs are delivered on site at the Commerce campus as well as in Dallas, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite and Corsicana. A robust online academic menu of classes is also a point of distinction, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked several programs at Texas A&M University-Commerce among the best in the nation for 2021.
• A member of The Texas A&M University System since 1996, the institution provides quality education to an inclusive community of diverse learners as one of the most affordable universities in East Texas.  Students work with world-class professors who dedicate themselves to excellence in teaching and research. The university maintains strong relationships with local industries to create relevant academic programs and valuable internship and networking opportunities that prepare career ready graduates.
• Serving nearly 12,000 students, Texas A&M-Commerce is a leader in competency-based education, and is the nation's first institution to offer an accredited competency-based bachelor's degree in criminal justice and organizational leadership. The agriculture program is also a national stand-out, featuring one of the only programs where students grow their own experimental crops on the university's 1,500-acre farm. In addition, A&M-Commerce upholds a 130-year legacy as an exceptional teachers' college, graduating more than 400 certified educators in 2019. In 2020, the university opened the 113,470-square-foot Nursing and Health Sciences Building, featuring a state-of-the-art simulation hospital.
 
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE MEMBERS ON JULY 1, 2022 – AS OF NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Institution	Offers Women's Basketball?
A&M-COMMERCE	YES
Houston Baptist	Yes
McNeese State	Yes
New Orleans	Yes
Nicholls State	Yes
Northwestern State	Yes
Southeastern Louisiana	Yes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Yes