COMMERCE – After earning a lead as large as 24 points in last night's regional quarterfinal, the 11th-ranked and third-seeded Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team plays an old Lone Star Conference foe in the regoinal semifinal Saturday, taking on 19th-ranked and second-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
 
WHO: A&M-Commerce vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State
WHERE: Canyon | First United Bank Center
WHEN: 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 13
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 14-3, Southwestern Oklahoma is 17-3
SEEDS: A&M-Commerce is the third seed. SWOSU is the second seed.

LIVE VIDEO: Lone Star Conference 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
 
The latest… 
The Lions won the regional quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Southern Nazarene on Friday night, 70-64. This was the Lions' first NCAA Tournament win since 2007. The Lions are now 4-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. 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)

The Lions lead the league and rank seventh nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 17.4, as well as holding LSC leads in rebounds per game (43.69), scoring offense (75.4), rebounding margin (+8.7) and free throws made and attempted entering the NCAA tournament.

Two Lions are in the top five in the LSC in scoring - Robinson is fourth at 16.3 points per game and Kernal is fourth at 15.8 points per game. Wright ranks 20th in the league at 12.0 points per game. Louis is sixth in the LSC at 7.6 rebounds per game and Kernal is seventh at 7.6 rebounds per game, while Tac is 15th at 6.0 rebounds per game. Louis and Kernal each make over 80 percent of their free throws. Tac averages a block per game.
 
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…
This season, the Lady Dawgs are led by the Great American Conference Player of the Year Makyra Tramble, who led the league in scoring (19.1 ppg), three-point field goals made (56) and steals (78) this season while ranking second in rebounds (9.8 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (19). Tramble was a four-time GAC Player of the Week as a sophomore and recorded nine double-doubles, which also led the conference and ranked 17th nationally
 
Behind Tramble, the Lady Bulldogs have three other players averaging double figures in Karly Gore (14.6 ppg), Bethany Franks (10.9) and Lauren Ramey (10.7). Gore was named a Second Team All-GAC selection as a sophomore and she opened the GAC Tournament with a monster game of 26 points and 13 rebounds, both of which are career-highs. Franks, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2019 Elite Eight, enters her third NCAA Tournament appearance as NCAA Division II's active leader in steals with 297 for her career. Ramey had a string of six straight games in double figures snapped in the GAC Semifinals. Leading the Lady Bulldogs their last time out was sophomore Regan Crawford, who scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including hitting 3-of-4 three-point attempts.
 
SWOSU was defeated by Southern Nazarene in the GAC semifinals, 88-74, as Southern Nazarene shot 56.1% from the field and knocked down 10 three-pointers. SNU is the two teams' only common opponent this season, with the teams splitting the series 2-2. Two of the Bulldogs' three losses this season are to the Crimson Storm.
 
Postseason History…
This is the Lions' fourth qualification for the NCAA Division II Championship, and third season in a row. The Lions now have a 4-2 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.

Series History…
This is the 21st meeting between the two former LSC rivals. SWOSU has a 12-8 lead in the all-time series, but have not played since 2011. The Lions are 6-3 in Commerce and the 'Dawgs are 7-2 in Weatherford with the site unlisted for two games. This is the first meeting on a neutral floor.