COMMERCE – The East Texas A&M University women's basketball team takes on Abilene Christian for the 50th time in program history as the Wildcats visit the Field House for Christmas in Commerce. 

WHO: Abilene Christian at East Texas A&M
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: Saturday, December 6 | 2:30 p.m.
RECORDS: East Texas A&M is 3-3 on the season, while Abilene Christian is 5-3 overall.   

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401826157
SLC INTERNATIONAL: https://www.southland.org/watch/
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=620365
TICKETS: https://vivenu.com/seller/texas-am-university-commerce-v6v3
GAME NOTES: ETAMU | ACU

SAAC TOY DRIVE
Saturday's game is part of the Toy Drive hosted by the East Texas A&M Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. All fans that bring a toy to donate to the 'Lil Angels will receive a free ticket to the game. 

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Abilene Christian has lost three of its last four, but is 2-1 against Southland opponents this season and picked up an exhibition win over HCU as well. The Wildcats went 22-13 last season and advanced to the Super 16 round of the WNIT.
• Saturday is the first time the Wildcats are playing in Commerce since 2013, with ACU being 15-6 overall in the Field House and 38-11 overall against the Lions.
• The Wildcats are 18th in the country in turnover margin and forcing 23.1 turnovers per game, which is 19th in the country.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• The Lions picked up a road win at Louisiana on Tuesday, the first win over a Division I opponent this season and just the third non-conference Division I road win in the Division I era.
• Last season, the Lions played the Wildcats for the first time since 2013 with ACU winning 74-59 winning in Abilene.
• The Lions are looking to win back-to-back games over Division I non-conference opponents for just the second time over the last four years and for the first time since the 2023-24 season.

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
• On Tuesday, 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 WILDCATS
• Saturday is the 50th meeting all-time between the Lions and the Wildcats and the first in Commerce since 2013.
• The Wildcats are 38-11 all-time in the series and won eight of the last nine meetings, including two in a row.
• The Lions last won at home over ACU in 2008.

FIRST NET RANKINGS RELEASED
• The first NCAA NET rankings of the year were released on Monday 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. 261 going into Saturday's game.

LONG STRETCHES AWAY
• The Lions come off a 10-day break to face the Ragin' Cajuns on Tuesday.
• 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.

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.