COMMERCE – The second-seeded Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead and had five players score in double figures on the way to a 77-63 win over seventh-seeded Oklahoma Christian University in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Lone Star Conference Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday.
 
The Lions are now 12-2 overall and advance to the LSC Championship semifinal, where they will play third-seeded West Texas A&M at 6:45 p.m. Friday in Lubbock at Lubbock Christian University.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from the floor and took advantage of free throw opportunities, going 23-of-31 from the charity stripe.
- Two Lions had double-doubles, as Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) scored 10 points and snagged 17 rebounds.
- Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) led the Lions in scoring with 17 points while also passing out eight assists.
- Chania Wright (DeSoto) scored 16 points.
- A&M-Commerce had a 51-32 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lion defense stifled the Eagle offense early, as the visitors made only two field goals in the first seven minutes of action. The Lions also scored the first seven points of the game, and that lead would grow to as many as eight points in the first quarter. The Eagles shaved that lead down to a single possession in the final two minutes of the frame, but A&M-Commerce held a 20-13 lead after 10 minutes.
 
The second quarter was all Lions, as the Eagles made only three baskets in the period, and only one in the final eight minutes. After seeing the lead trimmed down to two points early in the quarter, the Lions outscored OC 19-3 down the stretch towards halftime, with no Eagle field goals in the final 6:15. The Eagles missed their final nine field goal attempts of the half and A&M-Commerce led 39-21 at the intermission. Robinson and Wright each had nine points at the break, and Kernal had already accumulated 13 boards.
 
Louis and Kernal combined for eight early points in the third quarter, allowing the Lions to get their largest lead of the game at 21 points on Kernal's layup at the 6:40 mark which made it a 47-36 contest. The Eagles finally found their shooting stroke, going on a 9-0 run. A Kendra Levings triple at the 2-minute mark made it an 11-point game at 51-40. TAMUC answered with five straight points and led 56-42 with 10 minutes to play.
 
Five of OC's first six baskets in the fourth quarter were from long range, allowing the guests to cut the lead back to single digits at 69-61 with just under three minutes to go, but the Lions closed strong. Wright made a jumper, followed by four Louis free throws, and a pair of freebies from Robinson, closing the game in the Lions' favor by 14 points.