COMMERCE – Having won four in a row, the East Texas A&M University women's basketball hosts Southeastern on Thursday night searching for the first ever win over SLU.  

WHO: Southeastern at East Texas A&M
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: Thursday, February 12 | 6:30 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 11-10 on the season and 7-7 against Southland opponents, while the Lady Lions are 4-18 overall and 3-12 in SLC action. 

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401807887
SLC International Feed: https://www.southland.org/watch/
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=620360
TICKETS: https://vivenu.com/seller/texas-am-university-commerce-v6v3
GAME NOTES: ETAMU | SLU

SCOUTING THE LADY LIONS
• Southeastern has won its last two coming into Thursday's game in Commerce. Prior to the winning streak, SLU had just two wins on the season, with one being over East Texas A&M in Hammond and another against Centenary on opening night.
• SLU has never lost to East Texas A&M, having won the previous eight matchups. The five-point loss earlier this season the margin was less than 10 points  for the second time since the 2022-23 season.
• SLU is holding teams to shoot 28.9 percent from deep, which is 98th in the country.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• East Texas A&M rolled to a win over Northwestern State last Saturday to extend its winning streak to four, which is the program's longest winning streak since the end of the 2023-24 season. A win over Southeastern on Thursday secures the first five-game winning streak since 2022-23.
• The Lions came within five points of secure their first ever win over the Lady Lions earlier this season, but the average scoring margin in three previous meetings in the Field House has been 9.7 points.
• East Texas A&M remains 31st in the country in three-point defense of 27.2 percent.

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.

EARLY RUN TAMES THE LADY DEMONS
• The Lions scored the first eight points of last Saturday's win over Northwestern State and trailed just once for the rest of the game.
• It was the first win for the Lions over Northwestern State since the win in the conference tournament during the 2023-24 season.

LIONS ARE ON A ROLL
• The win over Northwestern State increased the Lions' winning streak to four entering Thursday's home matchup.
• The four-game winning streak is the longest since a four-game winning streak at the end of the 2023-24 season, which included two wins over Northwestern State.
• The Lions last won five games as part of a 6-0 start to Southland play during the 2022-23 season.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE LADY DEMONS
• Southeastern has won all eight meetings between the two teams, including a 76-71 win earlier this season.
• Thursday is the fourth matchup in the Field House between the two teams.

ELLISON SINKS GAME-WINNER TO SWEEP THE LADYJACKS
• Tiani Ellison delivered a clutch basket with less than three seconds left to give the Lions the win at SFA, their first ever win in Nacogdoches.
• The Lions held SFA to just 10 points in the fourth quarter, coming back from being down 11 to start the quarter.

ANOTHER COMEBACK FOR THE AGES AGAINST THE COLONELS
• For the second year in a row, Nicholls held a double-digit lead in the Field House over the Lions and for the second straight season, the Lions came back to take the win over the Colonels.
• The win also gave the Lions five conference wins, which is one more than last season.
• Tiani Ellison recorded her second double-double of the season in the game, while Reza Po scored 24.

PO NAMED SOUTHLAND PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Reza Po was named the Southland Player of the Week on February 2 after averaging 28.5 points per game in the wins over New Orleans and Nicholls.
• She guided the Lions to their first 2-0 weekend in conference play this season.

LIONS RE-WRITE THE RECORD BOOK AGAINST THE PRIVATEERS
• The January 29 win over New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak and the Lions recorded their largest margin of victory over a conference opponent this year.
• The 90 points scored are the most in a conference game since 94 in a win at McNeese during the 2023-24 season.

A CAREER NIGHT FOR PO
• In the win over New Orleans, Reza Po led the way with career-best 33 points.
• She became the first Lion to score 30 or more points in a game since Chania Wright in 2020 and it is tied for 12th all-time in program history.
• Her total of 33 points is the highest by a Southland player thus far this season.

HOT SHOOTING FROM DEEP SECURES FIRST EVER WIN OVER THE ISLANDERS
• The Lions made 12 three-pointers, including a stretch of five three-pointers made in a row to win over A&M-Corpus Christi for the first time ever.
• Cora Horvath shot 5 for 12 from deep on her way to scoring 21 points.

ELLISON, HORVATH POWER LIONS OVER PRIVATEERS
• Nina Horvath scored 24 points for the Lions at New Orleans in the win for the Lions, which is the individual total for any Lion player this season.
• Tiani Ellison had a double-double in the win over the Islanders, which is the first double-double for the program this season and first since Jan. 4, 2025.

PO LIFTS THE LIONS OVER SFA
• Reza Po drilled a floater to give the Lions a win over SFA as she scored the final five points of the game for the Lions.
• The Lions picked up their first ever win over SFA in the seventh meeting between the two teams.
• East Texas A&M avoided its first 0-3 start to conference play for the first time since 2011-12.
• The Lions also won their first home game in conference play for the seventh year in a row.

DOWNED THE LADY TIGERS AT HOME
• The Lions ended non-conference play with a win over Texas Southern, which was its second straight win over the Lady Tigers over the prior two seasons.

LIONS LOVE THE KIDS
• The win over Texas Southern was the Education Day game for the Lions, who moved to 2-0 in Education Day games this season.

TAMED THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
• 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.

REUNITED WITH THE WILDCATS
• December 6 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. 260 going into Saturday'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, the Lions were 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.

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.