LAKE CHARLES, La. – Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch aided the fifth seeded Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team to hold on for the 65-62 win over the fourth seeded UIW Cardinals in the Southland Conference tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at the Legacy Center.
 
The Lions did not make a field goal for the final 6:33 of the game, but made seven of eight shots at the line to punch their fifth straight ticket to the semifinal round of the conference tournament by beating the Cardinals, who won the Southland tournament last season.
 
A&M-Commerce faces top seeded Southeastern on Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. with a trip to the championship game on the line.
 
For the second straight game, DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) scored 20 or more, while leading the team in assists and rebounds as well. Laila Lawrence (Lewisville) scored 13 points. The Lions have won at least two postseason games in each of the last four seasons.

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
 
UIW made its first three three pointers and after missing its first field goal attempt of the game, it made the next six to go up 15-11. A scoring drought of 3:58 and a 6-0 run allowed the Lions to tie the game at 15 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Both teams did not score a point for the first three minutes of the second quarter. The scoring drought for the Cardinals continued well into the second quarter as their first point of the quarter did not come until the 5:29 mark, missing 11 field goal attempts in a row.
 
The scoring drought in total for the Cardinals was eight minutes and 42 seconds of game action. UIW scored just six points in the second quarter, which is the lowest total allowed by the Lions in a quarter this season. A&M-Commerce led 27-21 at halftime with eight points from Lawrence and seven from Kernal.
 
The Lions shot 71.4 percent to start the third quarter and led by as much as 10 in the third. Mia Deck (Frisco – Lone Star) converted an and-one at the end of the third quarter to give the Lions a 46-37 lead going into the fourth. The Lions shot 8 for 11 in the third, while UIW shot 6 for 13 from the field.
 
The Cardinals cut the lead down five by going on a 10-0 run and holding the Lions scoreless for four minutes and 22 seconds in the fourth, A&M-Commerce missed four field goals during that stretch. The Lions' last made field goal in the game came at the 6:33 mark of the fourth, but they made seven of their eight free throw attempts during that stretch to hold on for the win.
 
UIW made its first three shots from distance, but shot 5 for 19 from there and snapped its six-game losing streak.
 
Kernal tallied 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal, while Deck added 17 points, three steals, two rebounds, and a steal. Lawrence scored 11 with six rebounds and three assists. Olivia Russell (Auburn Hills, Mich.) and Zaria Collins (Plano) scored six each with Russell tallying five rebounds and Collins grabbing six.
 
For the Cardinals, both Nina De Leon Negron and Jorja Elliott scored 19 points each.