CANYON – A second quarter surge by the No. 11 Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team provided enough cushion for the Lions to hold off a late rally by Southern Nazarene University and earn a 70-64 win in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional quarterfinal on Friday evening.
 
The Lions move to 14-3 overall on the season and will face second-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma State in the regional semifinal at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at West Texas A&M's First United Bank Center.
 
This marks the first NCAA Tournament win for the Lions since the 2007 team went to the Elite Eight.
 
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) led all scorers with 21 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting.
- Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) scored 14 points and Dyani Robinson (Cy-Creek) scored 10 points.
- Agang Tac (Sachse) had a game-high nine rebounds as the Lions held a 49-40 rebounding edge over the Crimson Storm.
- The Lions shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the floor, while Southern Nazarene shot 35.3 percent (24-of-68)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions started and ended the first quarter with mini-runs. After A&M-Commerce scored the first four points of the game, SNU found its way back into the game. Ravae Payne (Pearland) hit a three-pointer and a pair of free throws before a five-point run by SNU gave the opposition their only lead of the game at 13-12 with three minutes left in the quarter. Louis made a pair of buckets and a Tac free throw gave the Lions a 17-13 lead after a quarter.
 
A&M-Commerce stepped on the gas early in the second quarter to surge ahead. The Lions scored nine points in less than two minutes, with Kernal netting seven of those to stake the higher seed out to a 26-13 lead. SNU was able to narrow its deficit down to 10 points before Louis went on a personal 6-0 run. Robinson hit a jumper just before the buzzer, and the buzzing Lions headed to the locker room with a 41-27 lead.
 
The third quarter exhibited the Lions' defensive prowess, as Southern Nazarene did not connect on a field goal for the first 6:38 of the quarter. This allowed A&M-Commerce to push the lead out to 24 points with 3:48 left in the frame at 54-30. The Storm found their stride late in the quarter with a 7-0 run, but Chania Wright (DeSoto) hit a jumper just before the horn to send the Lions to the fourth quarter with a 58-37 lead.
 
That large lead would be necessary, as the Crimson Storm lived up to the second word in their nickname. SNU shot 11-of-17 in the quarter with 18 points in the paint. Conversely, the Lions made only four field goals in the period and had half of their turnovers for the game in the fourth. The Storm cut the lead to five in the final seconds, but the Lions were able to fend off their foe to survive and advance.