COMMERCE – For the first time this season, the East Texas A&M University women's basketball team looks to win back-to-back games when it welcomes McNeese on Saturday afternoon. 

WHO: McNeese at East Texas A&M
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: Saturday, January 4 | Noon
RECORDS: The Lions are 4-8 overall and 1-2 in Southland Conference play, while the Cowgirls are 5-8 overall and 0-2 against SLC teams.   

LISTEN: Lion Sports Network | https://www.ketr.org/
WATCH: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401700632
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=555446
TICKETS: https://vivenu.com/seller/texas-am-university-commerce-v6v3
GAME NOTES: ETAMU | MCN

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
• McNeese comes into Saturday's game having lost its last four, including a 70-55 loss at Northwestern State on Thursday night. The Cowgirls' only win over a Division I opponent this season came against South Carolina State.
• The Cowgirls are looking to win in Commerce for the second time in three years, but the Lions are 3-1 in the series since joining the Southland in 2022-23.
• Paris Guillory leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game, while Mireia Yespes is the leading rebounder, averaging 6.9 boards per game.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• The Lions played their first home game in 45 days on Thursday and came away with a 68-60 win over Nicholls to snap a five-game losing skid and pick up the first conference win of the season.
• East Texas A&M has now won the conference home opener in each of the last six seasons and is looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when they face the Cowgirls on Saturday.
• Jasmine Payne sparked the Lions in the win over the Colonels with 20 points off the bench, while Nykesha Sanders added season-best 14 points.

BRAND NEW WATERS
• The Lions are in the third 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.

SOME NEW THREADS
• Earlier this month, Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved a name change of A&M-Commerce to East Texas A&M University.
• The Lions wore a special jersey against Arkansas in an East Texas theme.

PAYNE SPARKS THE LIONS
• Entering the fourth quarter trailing by one, Jasmine Payne scored eight in a row to jumpstart a 13-0 run and help the Lions end the losing streak with the win over Nicholls.
• Payne has scored 18 or more points in each of the last two wins for the Lions.

AVOIDED A RARITY
• The Lions fell in their first two conference games before the holiday break, but came back to beat Nicholls on Saturday.
• East Texas A&M avoided its first 0-3 start to conference play since 2011-12.
• The Lions have also won the conference home opener in each of the last five years.

LOOKING TO KEEP IT ROLLING
• The Lions are looking to win back-to-back games on Saturday for the first time this season, being 0-3 thus far following a win.
• Last season, the Lions had five instances of winning two games in a row or more.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE COWGIRLS
• The Lions are 3-1 against the Cowgirls all-time and won both games last season, including a 87-78 win at home.
• McNeese's only win in the series came in Commerce in 2022-23.
• In the last meeting, the Lions won 94-70 in Lake Charles, which was the largest win away from home in Division I era.

LONG TIME AWAY FROM HOME ENDS
• The game against UT Arlington on November 18 was the last non-conference game at home for the Lions, who did not play at home again till Thursday against Nicholls.
• The 45-day stretch away from home was the third longest in Division I this season.
• Only Columbia (47) and UC Irvine (46) have had longer stretches away from home this season.

RIVALRY RE-IGNITED AGAINST THE WILDCATS
• Having played in the same conference for decades, Abilene Christian and the Lions met earlier this season since 2013, which was the 49th meeting between the two teams, with ACU leading the all-time head-to-head 38-11.

HORVATH CALLS GAME
• In overtime period where both teams had two-possession leads, Cora Horvath sent the Lions home with a win, hitting a jumper in the final seconds at Texas Southern.
• Both teams had a lead of over 10 points in the game, but TSU rallied late to force overtime.

TOUGH LOSS AGAINST THE MAVS
• The Lions led by as much as 12 and for over 25 minute against UTA last Monday, but came up on the wrong side of 73-71 loss at home.
• Jordyn Newsome led the team in scoring with 18, but three of five starters and four players overall fouled out in the game for the Lions.

HORVATH ON FIRE ON THE ROAD
• Cora Horvath scored 22 points in the road loss at No. 17 Baylor, scoring her first 20-point game as a Lion.

TOUGH TESTS ON THE ROAD
• The first two road games of the season for the Lions came against Power Conference opponents, including No. 17 Baylor, which are the only two Power Five Conference opponents on the schedule this season.

REACHED THE CENTURY MARK
• The Lions scored 100 in the win over LeTourneau, marking the first time in the Division I era and first time since January 23, 2022, at home against Midwestern State.

SLOW START, EASY WIN OVER UNT DALLAS
• The Lions led by just two after the first quarter against UNT-Dallas, but a 20-5 favor in the second quarter pulled the Lions ahead on their first win of the season.
• East Texas A&M has now started 1-0 in each of the last six seasons.

NEWSOME NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SLC TEAM
• After being named the conference Newcomer of the Year last season, Jordyn Newsome was named to preseason second team all-Southland coming into the year.
• Newsome was one of the top scorers from outside the three-point arc in the conference a year ago.

A NEW-LOOK SOUTHLAND
• The Southland Conference welcomes two new members to the conference this year in SFA and UTRGV.
• The Lions have played SFA just once, while having never played UTRGV.

LIONS PICKED SIXTH IN THE SLC
• In the new-look Southland, the Lions were picked to finish sixth, after a fifth-place finish a year ago.
• The Lions have finished fifth or tied for fourth in both seasons in the SLC.

KING HAS GOT IT DONE
• The first season under Valerie King was historic for the Lions.
• The win over UIW in the SLC Tournament gave the Lions the most wins under a first-year coach and are the most in the Division I era.

WE BELONG HERE
• East Texas A&M has advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for six straight seasons.
• The Lions have also won two postseason games for the fifth straight season.

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 ALL-SOUTHLAND HONORS
• 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.

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 season on the road.
• 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.

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.

UNPRECENTED START TO THE SEASON
• The Lions ended non-conference play with a record of 5-5 last season.
• 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 surpassed the 2022-23 season.

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.
• East Texas A&M has five NCAA postseason appearances in program history, with four coming in the last four seasons of the Division II era.