COMMERCE – Following a pair of non-conference games, the East Texas A&M University women's basketball team is back in Southland Conference play, battling the McNeese Cowgirls on Friday evening.  

WHO: East Texas A&M at McNeese
WHERE: Lake Charles, La. | Townsley Law Arena
WHEN: Friday, December 12 | 5 p.m.
RECORDS: East Texas A&M is 3-4 on the season and 0-1 in SLC action, while McNeese is 6-3 overall and yet to play a conference game. 

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401807525
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=618435&vislive=tame
GAME NOTES: ETAMU | MCN

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
• McNeese, who just won 10 games last season is already off to a 6-3 this season, with four wins coming over Division I non-conference opponents. McNeese is yet to play a Southland Conference game this season. All three losses for the Cowgirls have come against either Big XII or SEC opponents.
• Last season, the two teams went 1-1 against each other, with both teams winning on other team's home floor.
• Arianna Patton is scoring 12.3 points to lead the team, shooting 42 percent.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• The Lions fell on their home floor for the first time last Saturday against Abilene Christian, which was the 50th meeting between the two teams. Friday is the second Southland game for the Lions, who fell at Southeastern on November 22.
• Friday is the 10th game in Lake Charles for the Lions in the Division I era. East Texas A&M is undefeated against McNeese in three meetings in Townsley Law Arena, with the Lions holding a 7-2 record in the building.
• The Lions are 22nd in the country in free throws made (16.4) and 29th in free throws attempted (22.7). Reza Po is shooting 81.5 percent at the line, which is third in SLC.

A NEW ERA OF LION BASKETBALL
• This season begins a new era of East Texas A&M women's basketball as the Lions are now officially eligible for NCAA postseason after acheiving full NCAA Division I member status a year ahead of schedule.
• East Texas A&M ended its Division I era by advancing to the NCAA Tournament four seasons in a row, including winning a game in the past two trips to the NCAA Tournament.

JUST DOING IT
• The Lions also debuted their new uniforms as East Texas A&M is the now the only school in the Southland to be outfitted by Nike.

GET TO KNOW THE NEW LIONS
• This season's roster includes six newcomers with two being Division I transfers, while one is from Division II and three are true freshmen.
• Tiani Ellison, spent last season with the program, but made her season debut this season. She is a transfer from Missouri Western State.

TAMED THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
• Last week, the Lions cruised to a road win over Louisiana, the first win over a Division I opponent this season and the third ever non-conference road win over a Division I opponent.
• Following the win, the Lions jumped 60 spots in the NET rankings, being rated No. 242.
• The Lions are currently ranked No. 261 following Thursday's games around the country.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE COWGIRLS
• Over the last three seasons, the Lions are 4-2 against the Cowgirls, including a record of 3-0 in Lake Charles.
• Last season, East Texas A&M won 67-51 in Townsley Law Arena, with the Cowgirls winning 64-55 in Commerce.
• The Lions have an average margin of victory of 16 points in the three past games in Lake Charles.

FIELD HOUSE SOUTH
• Friday is the 10th time that East Texas A&M is playing in Townsley Law Arena (formerly Legacy Center) since moving up to Division I.
• The Lions are 7-2 in the previous nine games, having record three wins each in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
• None of the two losses in Lake Charles have come at the hands of McNeese, and both came in the Southland Tournament semifinals.

REUNITED WITH THE WILDCATS
• Last Saturday was the 50th meeting all-time between the Lions and the Wildcats and the first in Commerce since 2013.
• The Wildcats are now 39-11 all-time in the series with the win and won nine of the last 10 meetings.

FIRST NET RANKINGS RELEASED
• The first NCAA NET rankings of the year were released on December 1 with the Lions rated No. 301.
• Since then, the Lions climbed to as high as 241 following the win over Louisiana and are currently ranked No. 274 going into Friday's game.

LONG STRETCHES AWAY
• The Lions come off a 10-day break to face the Ragin' Cajuns on December 2.
• It was the second 10-day stretch between games for the Lions already this season.
• The previous 10-day stretch came between games against UT Dallas and at Oklahoma.
• Following the game against Texas Southern on Monday, the Lions are off for two weeks.

ANOTHER STRONG START TO THE SEASON
• With the win over UT Dallas, the Lions have started 2-1 or better for the third time year in a row.
• East Texas A&M has won at least three non-conference games in each of the last three seasons as well.

LION ROLL OVER TRAILBLAZERS
• November 3 was the season opener for the Lions, rolling to a 113-48 win over UNT Dallas.
• The 113 points are tied for the second most scored in a game in program history and most in a game since 2018.
• The Lions recorded 25 steals, which is a new program record.

NEWCOMERS MAKE THEIR MARK AGAINST UNT DALLAS
• The Lions had five scorers reach double-digits in the win over the Trailblazers with four of the five players being newcomers and four coming off the bench.
• Three freshmen: Sarah Gatwech, Rezia Castillo, and Terrayah McCoy all added 11 points or more in the game.

STEALS RECORD FALLS IN WIN OVER TRAILBLAZERS
• In the win over the Trailblazers, the Lions recorded 25 steals and forced 36 turnovers.
• The 25 steals are a new program record, surpassing 25 that the Lions had recorded two seperate occasions.
• Terrayah McCoy had six steals to lead the way for the Lions in the game.

ANOTHER SEASON WITH A 1-0 START
• The Lions have won their season opener for the seventh year in a row, including all four years of NCAA Division I basketball.

AVOIDED A RARITY
• The Lions fell in their first two conference games before the holiday break, but came back to beat Nicholls on January 2 last season.
• 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.

HORVATH CALLS GAME
• In overtime period where both teams had two-possession leads, Cora Horvath sent the Lions home wita 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.
• The win over the Tigers was the last time the Lions beat a Division I non-conference opponent.

TOUGH TESTS ON THE ROAD
• The first two road games of the season for the Lions came against Power Conference opponents, including No. 22/22 Oklahoma State on Wednesday and Oklahoma on November 19, who is ranked in the top 10 in both major polls.

WE'RE GOING TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER
• This season, each team in the Southland Conference is scheduled to play 22 conference games, which is the most for any conference in Division I.
• The first conference game for the Lions comes on November 22 at defending SLC champion, Southeastern.

KING HAS GOT IT DONE
• This is the third season for East Texas A&M under the leadership of Valerie King.
• The first season under King was historic for the Lions as 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, winning 15 games that season.

WE BELONG HERE
• East Texas A&M have advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for six of the last seven seasons.

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.