COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team continues its time in Lake Charles on Wednesday morning, playing Lamar for a chance to head to the Southland Conference Tournament championship game for the first time in school history. 

WHO: A&M-Commerce vs. Lamar
WHERE: Lake Charles, La. | Legacy Center
WHEN: Wednesday, March 13 | 11 a.m.
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 15-15 on the season, while Lamar is 23-5. 
RANKINGS: Neither team is nationally ranked. The Lions are the fifth seed in the conference tournament, while the Cardinals are the top seed. 
  LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/1c97a134-c34b-43c9-a3c6-2d06ad4af83e
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/b/519953
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | LU
TICKETS: LionAthletics.com/SLCTix
CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL: https://www.southland.org/tournaments/?id=194

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
• The Cardinals, who are the Southland Conference Champions and Southland Conference Tournament runner-up a year ago, make their SLC Tournament debut on Wednesday against the Lions.
• Lamar has suffered just one loss in conference play, which was a 73-70 win for the Lions in Beaumont on January 19. The Cardinals have won 13 straight since then.
• Akasha Davis was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, while Sabria Dean also earned first team all-conference honors and Aqua Franklin is coach of the year.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• The Lions are into the conference tournament semifinals for the second straight season as members of the Southland and sixth straight season overall. A&M-Commerce is looking to make the conference tournament finals for the fourth time in five years.
• Tuesday's win over UIW set the program record for most wins under a first-year coach as Valerie King has guided the Lions to 15 wins.
• Mia Deck was named to second team all-conference and Jordyn Newsome was named Newcomer of the Year by the Southland. Newsome is the program's first player to earn Newcomer of the Year award since 2006-07.

BRAND NEW WATERS
• The Lions are in the second season in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference.
• This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences in program history.
• A&M-Commerce is eligible for the NCAA Tournament in the 2026-27 season.

KING HAS GOT IT DONE
• The first season under Valerie King has been historic for the Lions.
• The win on Tuesday over UIW gave the Lions the most wins under a first-year coach and are the most in the Division I era.
• A win on Wednesday guarantees a non-losing season for the Lions, the first in the Division I era for the program and just the second overall in the athletic department.

WE BELONG HERE
• A&M-Commerce has advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for the sixth straight season and looks to make the conference tournament final for the fourth time in five years.
• The Lions have also won two postseason games for the fifth straight season, looking to win three for the third time in four years.
• Lamar has just one loss to a conference opponent this season and it was to A&M-Commerce at home on January 19.

LAKE CHARLES LOVIN'
• The Lions played their first game in the Legacy Center in January 2023, since then A&M-Commerce is 6-1 in games played in Lake Charles, which are the most for a non-McNeese team since the arena opened in 2019.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
• The Lions closed out the month of February on a four-game losing streak, but have now won four in a row entering Wednesday's game against Lamar.
• The four-game winning streak is the longest this season and longest since the 6-0 start to conference play last year.

DEFIED THE ODDS
• In the preseason Southland poll, the Lions were picked eighth, but finished in a tie for fifth with a conference record of 8-10.

TOP SCORING OFFENSE IN THE SOUTHLAND
• The Lions finished the season averaging 69.6 points per game, which was the top scoring offense in the conference.

DECK AND NEWSOME EARN ALL-SOUTHLAND RECOGNITION
• Mia Deck was named to second team all-conference by the Southland on Saturday, it is the first all-conference recognition in her career.
• Jordyn Newsome, a junior transfer from Coastal Carolina, was named the Newcomer of the Year. She is the program's first Newcomer of the Year since Lion Athletics Hall of Famer, Britney Jordan in 2006-07.
• The two honorees on the all-conference honor roll are the most for the program in the Division I era.

HOOD NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Jada Hood scored 22 points off the bench in the win over the Lady Demons, earning Southland Conference player of the week honors.
• She is the third Lion to be honored by the conference this season.

A RARE OVERTIME GAME
• The Lions went into overtime against New Orleans, which was just the second overtime game since November 2018, and first in the regular season.

NEAR-COMEBACK AGAINST SLU
• A&M-Commerce trailed by 30 against Southeastern, before making it a five-point game.
• The 30-point comeback would have been the second-biggest in NCAA Division I history.

HISTORIC WIN OVER THE COWGIRLS
• The Lions won by 24 points over McNeese last week.
• The margin of victory is largest on the road in the Division I era and second biggest against a conference opponent.
• The margin was also the highest for the Lions since Feb. 8, 2022.

DECK SCORES 1K POINTS
• Mia Deck scored 20 points against Nicholls to surpass the 1,000 career points threshold.
• She scored 649 of her 1,012 carer points as a Lion over the last three seasons.

BACK-TO-BACK LAST-SECOND WINNERS
• The Lions have scored the go-ahead basket in the last minute in the wins over Idaho and Southern Utah.
• Mia Deck scored the game-winner at Idaho, while Ahmya Boyce had the game-winner against Southern Utah.

DECK, DELGADO BRING HOME HARDWARE
• In back-to-back weeks, the Lions brought home the Southland Women's Basketball Player of the Week awards.
• Mia Deck earned the award following the game at Washington State and Idaho, while Mary Delgado earned the nod after games against Southern Utah and Houston.

HOT FROM DEEP
• The Lions have made double-digit triples in four games, including 14 three-pointers twice in a game, which is tied for second in school history. They also lead the Southland in three-pointers made.

UNPRECENTED START TO THE SEASON
• The Lions ended conference play with a record of 5-5.
• The five wins are most in non-conference play during the Division I era.
• The Lions had three wins over NCAA Division I opponents in non-conference play, which also surpasses last season's mark.

LIONS' RAIN THREES TO BEAT TRAILBLAZERS
• Despite trailing by double-digits in the first half, the Lions shot 14 three pointers to pick up the win over Utah Tech.
• The win snapped a two-game losing streak and is the first win over a Division I team this season.
• Both Mary Delgado and Ahmya Boyce scored 19 in the game, with Boyce hitting six three pointers.

SLOW START DOOMS LIONS AT TECH
• Texas Tech scored the first 29 points of the game in Lubbock.
• It is the first time since women's basketball went to quarters that the Lions were held without a basket in a quarter, being scoreless in the first quarter.

JUST FELL SHORT OF THE LOBOS
• Mia Deck's shot just fell short at the New Mexico in the 75-74 loss to the Lobos.
• The win for A&M-Commerce would have been the second over a Division I non-conference opponent and first on the road.
 
STARTED ON A HIGH NOTE
• The Lions' 2-0 to start the season was the fourth in the last five years and for the first time in the Division I era.
• By beating LeTourneau, the Lions have won their season opener for the fifth straight season.
• The Lions last lost in the season-opening game to start the 2018-19 season.
 
A NEW ERA
• Valerie King takes over as the Lions' coach this season, she was previously an assistant coach at New Mexico.
• This is the first season since 2013-14, that the Lions have a new coach.
• King is joined on the bench by assistant coaches: Tad Wedel, Brechelle Beachum, Trevor Moyer, and Jaedyn De La Cerda.
 
NEWSOME SHINES IN DEBUT
• Jordyn Newsome made her mark in Lion Country with a 24-point performance in her Lion debut.
• She knocked down six three pointers as well in her first game inside the Field House.
• She is third in the conference in three-point percentage. 

DELGADO LEADING THE WAY
• Mary Delgado is the team-leader in scoring and is second in the Southland, despite coming off the bench in the first six games of the season. 

PLENTY OF NEW FACES
• This season, the Lions bring back just seven players from last season, and welcome seven newcomers for the 14-person roster.
• Of the seven newcomers, three are true freshmen, while the rest are transfers.
• The Lion freshmen hail from Austria, Spain and Texas, while among the transfers, two are from the junior college ranks and two are from fellow NCAA Division I schools, both from the Sun Belt.
 
PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST
• A&M-Commerce faces four major conference opponents in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
• The Lions played at Texas Tech on Friday, are at Washington State on November 29, host Houston on December 8, and at Texas A&M on December 31.
• This season, the Lions face three teams that played in the NCAA Tournament, while playing two that played in the NIT.
 
HISTORIC START TO CONFERENCE PLAY
• For the first time since 2019-20, the Lions started 6-0 in conference play, last year. 
• That season, the Lions advanced all the way to the conference tournament championship game and made the NCAA Division II Tournament.
  
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.