COMMERCE – The 11th-ranked and third-seeded Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team begins its run in the NCAA tournament on Friday at 5 p.m. after their runner-up finish in the Lone Star Conference Tournament last weekend. The Lions will go head-to-head with the sixth-seeded Southern Nazarene University Crimson Storm.
 
WHO: A&M-Commerce vs. Southern Nazarene
WHERE: Canyon | First United Bank Center
WHEN: 5 p.m. on Friday, March 12
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 13-2, Southern Nazarene is 12-7
SEEDS: A&M-Commerce is the third seed. West Texas A&M is the sixth seed.

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network -- KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame
 
The latest… 
For the second-straight season A&M-Commerce faced Lubbock Christian in the LSC Championship game, falling just short of a title.
 
After their successful run in the conference tournament, the Lions – who were ranked fourth in the South Central Region, were given the 3-spot in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. This is the
 
The Lions had five players named to All-LSC teams. Dyani Robinson and DesiRay Kernal were named first team All-LSC, Juliana Louis and Chania Wright were named third team All-LSC, and Agang Tac earned honorable mention.
 
Down the stretch of the regular season, TAMUC went 7-1 to wrap up the regular season ending with a 110-81 victory over Western New Mexico.
 
On the opponent…
The Southern Nazarene hails from the Great American Conference, where the Crimson Storm finished third in the western division with a 10-7 record in the league.
 
SNU was seventh in the conference in scoring offense at 68.9 points per game, but their defense has been their strength, limiting opponents to 66.8 points per game – good for third in the GAC.
 
The Storm come off their hot play in their conference tournament, where they scored the final nine points of the game to take the title of Great American Conference Tournament Champions, 58-56, over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sunday.
 
SNU's Abby Niehues was the GAC preeminent shot blocker and captured the league's Defensive Player of the Year award. It was her third-straight year that she led the conference in blocked shots. She broke the career blocked shots record in the GAC and ranks second in Division II in total blocked shots.
 
The Crimson Storm are led in scoring by true freshman Payton Jones, who ranks ninth in the conference with 14.1 points per game.
 
Postseason History…
This is the Lions' fourth qualification for the NCAA Division II Championship, and third season in a row. The Lions have a 3-2 all-time record, with qualifications in 2007, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
 
The 2007 Lions were the South Central Region champions and advanced to the Elite Eight with victories that year over Emporia State, Missouri Western and Washburn by a combined six points. The 2019 Lions were eliminated in the regional quarterfinals at second-seeded Colorado Mesa.
 
Chania Wright (12 points, 2 assists) and Agang Tac (2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals) are the only Lions with NCAA Tournament playing experience.
 
This is Southern Nazarene's first trip to the NCAA Tournament, having joined the NCAA in 2015. The Crimson Storm were a power in the NAIA, but last made that postseason in 2012. They have not won a national tournament game since 2007, when they were an NAIA Division I national quarterfinalist. SNU made the NAIA Tournament 20 times with seven national championships, a national runner-up finish, four third place finishes and a 58-13 postseason record.