COMMERCE – Two of the three longest winning streaks collide in the Field House on Saturday as the East Texas A&M University women's basketball team hosts McNeese for the Fill the Field House game presented by All Systems Go HVAC-R.    

WHO: McNeese at East Texas A&M
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: Saturday, February 14 | 6:30 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 12-10 on the season and 8-7 against Southland opponents, while the Cowgirls are 21-4 overall and 15-1 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/401807888
SLC International Feed: https://www.southland.org/watch/
LIVE STATS: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=620364
TICKETS: https://vivenu.com/seller/texas-am-university-commerce-v6v3
GAME NOTES: ETAMU | MCN

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
• One of the surprises of the Southland this season, McNeese is 21-4 and 15-1 in SLC action, with the lone loss coming to Northwestern State back in December. The Cowgirls have won 14 in a row coming into Saturday's matchup.
• Earlier this season, the Cowgirls won 71-45 in Lake Charles over the Lions. The two teams split the season series in two of the last three years. McNeese is 2-1 in the Field House during that stretch.
• Cowgirls are holding teams to score 51 points per game, which is second in the country

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS
• The Lions pulled away from Southeastern on Thursday night to win over the Lady Lions for the first time ever and also win their fifth straight overall.
• The five-game winning streak for the Lions is their longest since winning their first ever six games to start the season during the 2022-23 season. The Lions are looking to win in the Field House over the Cowgirls for the first time since 2023-24 and have won at least one game over McNeese in each season since joining the Southland.
• The Lions continue to rank top 30 in the country in three-point defense, while also rising atop the assists per game leaderboard after 21 against Southeastern.

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.

STRONG SECOND HALF SECURES FIRST WIN OVER SLU
• Despite the game being tied at the half, East Texas A&M went on to lead by as much as 16 in the fourth quarter to down Southeastern for its fifth straight win.
• This was the first ever win over the other Lion team of the Southland for ET as Southeastern was 8-0 in the head-to-head series prior.

LIONS ARE ON A ROLL
• The win over Southeastern increased the Lions' winning streak to five entering Saturday's home matchup.
• The five-game winning streak is the longest under third-year coach Valerie King.
• 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
• The Lions hold a 4-3 advantage in the series over the Cowgirls, who have won two of the last three.
• The two teams have split the series in two of the last three seasons with the Cowgirls having won earlier this season.
• McNeese is 2-1 all-time in the Field House, including a 64-55 win last season.

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.

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. 263 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.