COMMERCE – A 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter propelled the East Texas A&M University women's basketball team to a 68-60 win over the Nicholls Colonels on Thursday night on the Hunt Regional Healthcare Court in the Field House.
 
The Lions snapped a five-game losing streak with the win, which was their first Southland Conference win of the season. East Texas A&M is now 4-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while Nicholls drops to 8-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
 
With the win, the Lions are 3-0 over the Colonels in the Field House and have won their first conference home game in each of the last six seasons.
 
Jasmine Payne (Montgomery, Ala.) led the Lions with 20 points off the bench, adding two rebounds and two steals. The Lion bench outscored the Colonels, 33-8. Nicholls had a lead as big as 12 in the game.
 
Entering the fourth quarter, the Lions trailed 49-48, but Payne scored eight in a row, sparking a 13-0 run and the Lions did not trail again in the game. Nicholls got it down to within four with 1:25 left, but the Lions made just enough free throws down the stretch to not allow the margin to come within one possession.
 
After a pair of lead changes in the first three minutes of the game, the Colonels went on a 15-2 run to lead 20-8 at the 3:28 mark of the first quarter, the largest lead of the game. The Lions stormed back to take the lead with 1:43 left in the second quarter on a three-pointer from Payne and led 37-33 at halftime.
 
Along with Payne's 20 points, Nykesha Sanders (Detroit, Mich.) added 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal, while Cora Horvath (Oberwart, Austria) tallied 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
 
Alva Hedrich (Muecke, Germany) racked up five blocks, along with eight rebounds and three points. Her five blocks are tied for the second most in a game in program history.
 
Nicholls' leading scorer was Tanita Swift, who totaled 28 points and six assists. The Lions outrebounded the Colonels, 43-30.
 

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The Lions continue the first homestand in conference play on Saturday against McNeese at noon on Family Fun Day. Tickets can be purchased at LionAthletics.com/tickets.