TAMUC – Sports

No. 9 Lion women prepare for highly anticipated matchups against No. 3 LCU

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team travels to Lubbock for a nationally-ranked and highly anticipated showdown Friday afternoon against the third-ranked Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps. 

WHO: A&M-Commerce at Lubbock Christian

WHERE: Lubbock | Rip Griffin Center

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. on Friday, January 8 | 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 9

RECORDS: A&M-Commerce and Lubbock Christian hold an unblemished 4-0 record overall and 4-0 in LSC play.

RANKINGS: We have a top-10 matchup early this season! A&M-Commerce has climbed as high as No. 9 in the polls while LCU sits at No. 3.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: LSC Digital Network

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network — KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)

LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=tame

TICKETS – The Rip Griffin Center will be at 50% capacity – tickets must be purchased online: https://www.ticketsource.us/lcu-athletics

 

A&M-Commerce (4-0, 4-0), led by seventh-year head coach Jason Burton, comes off a record-setting 2019-20 season with a lions’ share of firsts for the program. The defending LSC Coach of the Year and his staff led the Lions to a program-high 28-3 record along with the first 20-win Lone Star Conference season for the program. The end of this successful run is one the Lions and their fans will wonder “what could have been” after CoVID-19 brought an abrupt end to the postseason. 

The Lions maintain a roster with a mix of new faces and experienced ones. Two returning starters are at the forefront, with a duo of double-digit scoring guards in WBCA Honorable Mention Third All-American WBCA and All-LSC Second Teamer Chania Wright, LSC Freshman of the Year, and Third Team All-Conference selection Dyani Robinson. 

With two starters out in last weekend’s sweep of St. Mary’s, A&M-Commerce never missed a beat and saw DesiRay Kernal step up and bump her scoring average up to 16.8 points per game, which is good for fifth in the LSC standings for the season. She led the Lions on both ends of the floor and elevated the Lions to a point where they rank first in the conference in scoring offense (74.8 PPG) and second in scoring defense (57.8). 

Lubbock Christian (4-0, 4-0 LSC) finished last season in a similar spot with the Lions with a 28-3 mark and finishing behind A&M-Commerce with a 19-3 conference record. The hot starts have continued for both squads, ranking in the top two for both offense and defense. The Lady Chaps have the advantage in scoring defense, giving up 43.3 points per game, while the Lions have put up 74.5 points per game, leading the conference in the category. 

Allie Schulte and Ashton Duncan are the Lady Chaps scoring leaders so far in the season, averaging 15.3 and 12.0, respectively. Schulte is also far and away from their best on the boards, grabbing 6.0 per contest. 

A&M-Commerce and LCU have met five times in history, with the Lions and Lady Chaps splitting last year in a pair of defensive battles. Neither team scored enough to reach the 60-point plateau. The last time these two teams met on the hardwood, A&M-Commerce fell on a neutral site in the LSC Tournament Championship game, 57-44.