COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce will appear on national television for the first time since 2017 on Sunday evening when the women's basketball team faces Mississippi State on the SEC Network.
 
WHO: A&M-Commerce at Mississippi State
WHERE: Starkville, Miss. | Mize Pavilion at Humphrey Coliseum
WHEN: Sunday, December 11 | 5 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions snapped a six-game losing streak and are now 2-6 on the season, while the Bulldogs are 7-2 on the season.  
RANKINGS: The NCAA released its initial NET rankings on Monday. Mississippi State is ranked No. 40 in NCAA Division I and A&M-Commerce is No. 232.  
 
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce | http://www.ketr.org
LIVE VIDEO: SEC Network | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401480111?gameId=401480111
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/v/tame/423970
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | MSU
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• One of the premier women's basketball programs in the country, Mississippi State is 7-2 this season and ranked No. 40 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Bulldogs are picked to finish eighth in the preseason SEC rankings.
• The Bulldogs are fourth in the country in blocks per game (6.6), fifth in opponent field goal percentage (31.8), and seventh in scoring defense (50.3).
• Jessika Carter, a preseason all-SEC player is 11th in the country with an average of 2.7 blocks per game and Anastasia Hayes, also an all-SEC preseason pick is 50th in assists.
 
QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• A&M-Commerce returned home against Idaho and snapped its six-game losing streak, while also collecting its first win over a Division I opponent this season. The Lions were down by as much as 10 in the first half, but turned around and led by 16 to close out the game.
• Following the win, the Lions jumped 20 spots in the NCAA NET rankings to be ranked No. 232, which is third-best in the Southland. The Lions lead the Southland in scoring offense.
• Dyani Robinson leads the conference in scoring and DesiRay Kernal is fourth in rebounding.
 
BRAND NEW WATERS
• The Lions are in the first season in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference.
• This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences for the first time in program history.
 
TOUGH SLATE TO START 2022-23
• A&M-Commerce's first four games of the season against Division I competition have come against either teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last season or competed in the WNIT.
 
AMONG THE BEST IN THE SLC
• The Lions lead the conference in scoring with an average of 69.6 points per game.
• They are also second in rebounding, averaging 43.0 boards per game.
• Dyani Robinson leads the conference in scoring (17.6), while DesiRay Kernal is fourth in rebounding (7.5).
• Laila Lawrence is ninth in scoring (11.3) and rebounding (6.4).
 
ROBINSON NAMED SLC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Dyani Robinson continued right where she left off to start the season, earning the opening week's SLC Player of the Week award.
• Last season, she was a first team All-American, TABC Small College Player of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Most Outstanding Player of the Year, and Lone Star Conference Player of the Year.
 
KERNAL CRASHING THE BOARDS
• DesiRay Kernal is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game through eight games, which is fourth in the Southland Conference.
• She has two double-doubles on the season, both coming against Division I opponents.
 
ENDED ON A HIGH NOTE
• The Lions ended their Division II era with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and won a NCAA Tournament game in each of the last two seasons.
• A&M-Commerce has five postseason appearances in program history, with four coming in the last four seasons.
• The Lions were ranked as high as No. 1 in the D2SIDA rankings and No. 2 in the WBCA rankings last season.
 
HE'S DONE THIS ONCE OR TWICE
• Coach Jason Burton is in his second stint in the Southland Conference.
• Burton was an assistant coach at Texas State from 2011-13 on the men's side.
 
BURTON GETS WIN NO. 150
• Coach Jason Burton, who is the Lions' all-time wins leaders, secured his 150th career win on 2/12/22 at UT Tyler.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
• Dyani Robinson was named the LSC Player of the Year, she is among four all-LSC honors last season
• Laila Lawrence earned Sixth Woman of the Year award, while also being named to the All Freshman team and All-LSC Third Team
• DesiRay Kernal was named to the second team and former Lions Chania Wright was named to the third team.
 
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Dyani Robinson was the third LSC Player of the Year in program history, joining Britney Jordan and Kanani Marshall.
Chased 20 wins
• A win on 2/12/22 against UT Tyler gave the Lions 20 wins for the fifth time in program history.
• The previous 20 win seasons came in 2006-07, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20.
 
ROBINSON REACHES 1K MARK
• Dyani Robinson reached the 1,000 career points mark on Saturday, she needed 11 points against the Falcons.
 
STARTING OUT STRONG
• A&M-Commerce's 11-0 start to last season was the second time in three seasons that the Lions started 11-0 or better.
 
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
• A&M-Commerce scored 100 points against Midwestern State on 1/23/22, the third time they reached the 100-point mark.
• The Lions had never scored 100 points in a game three times in a single season before this year.
• Earlier this season, the Lions scored 100 points or more against Arkansas-Monticello and SAGU.
• Entering the season, they had only scored 100 points or more eight times.
 
40 UNDER 40
• Coach Jason Burton was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Basketball's 40 Under 40 list last season. The all-time wins leader in his ninth year the helm of the Lion Women's basketball program.
 
A&M-COMMERCE OFFICIALLY JOINS NCAA DIVISION I AND THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
• After 90 successful years as charter members of the Lone Star Conference, the Lions begin a historic transition to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference. This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences since 1931.
• The Lions are eligible to win the Soutland Conference, though they are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament during the four-year transition period.
• Winners  of the NAIA National Championship in 1954-55.
• Founded in 1889, A&M-Commerce serves rural and urban Northeast Texas with distinction, consistently delivering on a promise that founder Professor William Leonidas Mayo made more than a century ago: "No industrious, ambitious youth shall be denied an education if I can prevent it."  To this day, the institution remains committed to its core mission: "Educate. Discover. Achieve."
• Formerly known as East Texas State University, the 2,100-acre Commerce campus provides many opportunities for students to learn and grow. The university offers more than 135 degree programs at the bachelor's, masters and doctoral levels. A vibrant student life experience includes 14 competitive NCAA athletic teams, a thriving Greek system and more than 120 student organizations. Programs are delivered on site at the Commerce campus as well as in Dallas, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite and Corsicana. A robust online academic menu of classes is also a point of distinction, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked several programs at Texas A&M University-Commerce among the best in the nation for 2021.
• A member of The Texas A&M University System since 1996, the institution provides quality education to an inclusive community of diverse learners as one of the most affordable universities in East Texas.  Students work with world-class professors who dedicate themselves to excellence in teaching and research. The university maintains strong relationships with local industries to create relevant academic programs and valuable internship and networking opportunities that prepare career ready graduates.
• Serving nearly 12,000 students, Texas A&M-Commerce is a leader in competency-based education, and is the nation's first institution to offer an accredited competency-based bachelor's degree in criminal justice and organizational leadership. The agriculture program is also a national stand-out, featuring one of the only programs where students grow their own experimental crops on the university's 1,500-acre farm. In addition, A&M-Commerce upholds a 130-year legacy as an exceptional teachers' college, graduating more than 400 certified educators in 2019. In 2020, the university opened the 113,470-square-foot Nursing and Health Sciences Building, featuring a state-of-the-art simulation hospital.
 
SOUTHLAND MEMBERS IN 2022-23

Institution	Offers Women's Basketball?
A&M-COMMERCE	YES
Houston Christian	Yes
Incarnate Word	Yes
Lamar	Yes
McNeese State	Yes
New Orleans	Yes
Nicholls State	Yes
Northwestern State	Yes
Southeastern Louisiana	Yes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Yes