COMMERCE – A three pointer from DesiRay Kernal opened the scoring in the Field House on Saturday afternoon to give the No. 6 ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team the first lead of the game. The Lions did not surrender the lead the rest of the way and cruised to a 94-65 win over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds.
 
Every Lion that dressed for Saturday's game, played at least two minutes, and all but one had at least one shot attempt. The Lions move to 2-1 in Lone Star Conference play, sweeping their first conference weekend homestand, they are 13-1 overall. The Greyhounds drop 5-6 overall and 1-4 in LSC games having lost to the Lions five straight times.
 
Following the three pointer from Kernal (Newton, Kan.), Chania Wright (DeSoto) knocked down another three pointer to help the Lions start 2 for 2 from the distance. They shot 7 for 19 in the game, while the Greyhounds shot 2 for 13 from outside the arc.  
 
Kernal went 3 for 4 from the field, including two three pointers, and made both her free throws for 10 points in the first quarter. She finished the game with 14 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block.
 
Eastern New Mexico fought back from being down four and tied it at eight, but an 11-0 run by the Lions pulled them ahead. Eight of the Greyhounds' first 13 points were second-chance points. They had nine offensive rebounds in the first quarter and 22 in the game. The Greyhounds outrebounded the Lions, 39-38 and had the 25-15 advantage in second chance points.
 
A&M-Commerce shot 5 for 6 from the field to start the game, as well as 7 for 10 from the line. Starting her second game in a row, Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) grabbed five rebounds in the first quarter and led the Lions with six in the game. Louis also added two points and a block.
 
The Greyhounds went on a mini 5-0 run and held the Lions without a point for nearly two points to cut the margin to six points. The Lions scored the final nine points of the first quarter and took a commanding, 28-13 lead after the first quarter.
 
Laila Lawrence (Lewisville) knocked down all four of her field goal attempts in the second quarter for team-leading eight points in the quarter. The Lions ended the half making six of their last eight shots and took a 53-34 lead at the halfway point, outshooting the Greyhounds, 57 percent to 30 percent in the half.
 
Coming off the bench, Lawrence shot 5 for 8 from the field and 7 for 8 from the line for 17 points. She also totaled five rebounds, an assist, and a steal. The Lions got contributions from six scorers off the bench to outscore the Eastern New Mexico bench, 46-13.
 
Eastern New Mexico stayed toe-to-toe with A&M-Commerce in the third quarter, tying 23 points for each team in the quarter. Despite shooting 44 percent from the field in the quarter, the Greyhounds were not able to get the deficit lower than 13 in the quarter.
 
The Lion leader in scoring and assists was Dyani Robinson (Langham Creek), who scored 19 points and dished out eight assists, while also grabbing three rebounds and having one steal. Robinson has led the Lions in scoring in eight of the 14 games and is fourth in the LSC with a scoring average of 16.1.
 
All 15 active Lions saw the floor in the quarter, outscoring the Greyhounds 18-8. A layup by Robinson gave the Lions an 86-57 lead at the 7:24 mark of the fourth quarter, their largest lead of the day. Olivia Russell (Auburn Hills, Mich.) knocked a layup to match the largest margin of the day at the 3:24 mark, 92-63.
 
Russell scored four points, also recording four rebounds and a steal. Dorian Norris (Lake Dallas) totaled eight points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Symmone James (McKinney – Boyd) had six points and two rebounds. Jordyn Beaty (Woodville) recorded team-best three steals and scored five points.
 
Amongst the starters, Wright tallied 10 points, three assists, two rebounds, a steal, and a block. Ravae Payne (Pearland) scored three points and handed out an assist.
 
The Lions have not lost in the Field House with coach Jason Burton at the helm against Eastern New Mexico.


POSTGAME INTERVIEW
 
UP NEXT
A&M-Commerce concludes the three-game homestand against UT Tyler on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.