COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball dropped a 61-53 contest to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday night in the Field House to close out the regular season.
 
In their first Division I season, the Lions finish the regular season with a record of 12-18, but finish 10-8 in Southland Conference play. A&M-Commerce finishes tied for fourth in conference play. The Islanders are 19-10 overall and 14-4 in conference play. With the win on Wednesday, the Islanders are crowned co-champions of the Southland and earn the second seed in the conference tournament.  
 
The Lions now look ahead to the Southland Conference Tournament in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A&M-Commerce is the fifth seed in the tournament and faces the eighth seed Northwestern State on Monday at 11 a.m.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi led 18-8 in the first quarter and led by as much as 19 in the first half. The Lions outscored the Islanders, 14-8, in the third quarter and cut it to within four in the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run. A&M-Corpus Christi was held to just 18 points in the second half, and scored four in a row to go back up by eight when the Lions cut it to four.
 
The Lions had the 29-6 advantage in free throw attempts, but missed 12 of their attempts. A&M-Commerce also had the 41-30 edge in rebounding.
 
Laila Lawrence (Lewisville) recorded a double-double for the fifth consecutive home game. She had 10 points and 12 rebounds and led the team with three assists and tied for the team lead with two blocks. DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) had two blocks as well and led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds. She also recorded two steals.
 
Mia Deck (Frisco – Lone Star) tallied 11 points, five rebounds, four steals, and one assist, while Olivia Russell (Auburn Hills, Mich.) scored eight points with five rebounds off the bench.
 
For the Islanders, both Alecia Westbrook and Paige Allen scored 17 points each. Westbrook had eight rebounds. The Islanders used 15 players in the game, while the Lions had eight players appear in the game. The Islanders took both meetings over the Lions in the last seven days.

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