Balanced scoring effort leads No. 17 Lions past Cameron.

LAWTON, Okla. – The No. 17 Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team rolled to a decisive division-opening victory over the Cameron Aggies on Thursday evening, 89-71.  

The win improved the Lions to an overall record of 5-1, 5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. Cameron falls to 3-3, 3-3 in the LSC. 

There will be a rematch between the Lions and Aggies on Saturday. This time the showdown will take place at the Field House in Commerce. 

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

– On the team’s performance: “We came out the first half and followed the game plan to a “T”. They came out in a 1-3-1, and that was unexpected. Kudos to them for trying something different. Offensively we did a really good job of handling something we were not expecting and still found ways to score. Defensively in the second half, we just stopped playing defense, and it was an offensive battle. Last game it was first to 80 wins, and luckily tonight, we got to 80 first.”

– On having the team all together: “We had two players who have not played in a couple of weeks come in and make a huge impact. And Faith Bland, who really has not played at all, because of the foul trouble in the first half and the matchups played really well. I thought she had a chance to really come on to the floor and make a difference for us, and she played big in the minutes she was in the game. For Dyani to be out for so long, to be 10-for-10 from the free-throw line with five assists and one turnover. She really ran the show and played offense and defense at a high level. She also got some big timely baskets. Then Juliana, who was on a minute restriction, played less than 12 minutes and had nine points and seven rebounds. You can tell it is a different team when we have all our team out there on the floor.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) returned to action and did not miss a beat, matching her season-high in points with 23. She also led the team with five assists. Robinson is the seventh player in Division II this season to go 100% from the foul line with ten or more makes (10-for-10).

– DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) continued her season’s success putting in 16 points on her birthday while flirting with a double-double, grabbing eight rebounds. Chania Wright (DeSoto) was the only other Lion who scored in double figures with 10 of her own.

– Agang Tac (Sachse) had her second consecutive game with eight points. A group of three other Lions also scored between seven and nine points, including Asiyah Smith (Conway, Ark.) with seven, Jordyn Beaty (Woodville) with eight, and Juliana Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) with nine.

– The Lions out-shot the Aggies from the field, making 44.4 percent of their field goals to the Aggies’ 38.7 percent. Both squads got to the free-throw line at a high rate, but A&M-Commerce went 21-of-27 for 78-percent over the 61-percent from Cameron.

– Turnovers were key as they are in all Lion games, as the Lions scored 18 points off turnovers while Cameron got just six of its own.

– The Lions won the rebounding battle 46-39. A&M-Commerce had a double-digit advantage in both second-chance points (20-10) and the paint points (50-34). 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Robinson put A&M-Commerce on the scoreboard first with two made free throws to start a Lion scoring barrage. The Lions would start the game on a tear, going on a 16-0 scoring run led by five points from Kernal heading into the first media timeout. The Aggies would not score their first points until the 4:47 mark in the opening quarter. After the media timeout, Cameron would outscore the Lions 13-9, but the road team held the commanding 25-13 lead after one quarter of play. 

After Kernal made a free throw to open the second quarter, Louis helped extend the Lion lead to 40-19 in the frame, which was a game-high to this point after the media timeout. Beaty began to emerge as an offensive threat with eight first-half points as the quarter was drawing to a close, and A&M-Commerce owned the 43-24 lead at halftime. 

At the half, the Lions led by 19, and it was mostly to stifling defense and efficient shooting from the floor, shooting 44.4 percent. A&M-Commerce led at the half in scoring with the eight from Beaty. Robinson was not far behind with six, four of which came from the free-throw line. To this point, the road team owned the rebound advantage (25-22), and points off turnovers were in favor of the Lions, 11-4. 

As the second half began, the Lions hit an early basket from Tac, but the offense would proceed to turn the ball over three times in two minutes while also forcing the Aggies to go 0-for-4 from the field. The Aggies proceeded to cut into the A&M-Commerce lead with a 10-4 run, hitting three consecutive baskets in the process, making it a 47-34 game with 6:20 to go in the third quarter. After missing six of seven shots, the Lion offense picked up steam from that point to the end of the quarter. After the media timeout, the Aggies went on a 21-8 run to bring the lead down to as little as eight points. The defense was then able to lead to the offense for A&M-Commerce, resulting in four of five possessions ending in points for the Lions. A&M-Commerce went into the fourth quarter with a 59-47 lead. 

Heading into the final frame, a pair of three-pointers and aggressive defense led to an 11-7 scoring advantage in the early part of the frame, extending the lead to as many as 16 in that time frame. Physical play dominated the game, and that showed as both teams entered the bonus before the first media break of the quarter. After the media timeout, both teams hit their shots at a high rate, but A&M-Commerce made three straight baskets and never allowed the Aggies to make another move to threaten the lead. A&M-Commerce played with the determination to close the Lion way.

170 Lions named to Fall 2020 Lone Star Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll

A&M-Commerce leads the conference with 62 perfect 4.0 GPAs and ranks third in total honorees.

RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce is represented by 170 student-athletes on the Fall 2020 Lone Star Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, as announced by the LSC office Thursday. 

After the fall and spring semesters, they announced the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, with student-athletes qualifying based on grade point average for the current semester. Student-athletes must have a minimum 3.30 GPA for the current semester and be on the roster to be honored.

Of the 170 Lion student-athletes on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, A&M-Commerce had 62 student-athletes who earned a perfect 4.0 term grade point average, which led the conference. The Lions also ranked third in the league in total honorees behind UT Tyler’s 176 and UT Permian Basin’s 172.

A total of 2,254 student-athletes throughout the league’s 18 institutions in the fall semester earned recognition on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, with 692 student-athletes earning a perfect GPA.

Student-Athlete	Cl.	Sport	Major	Hometown
Emmanuel Adeoye	So.	Men’s Basketball	General Business	Richmond, Calif.
Serina Aguilar	So.	Softball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Houston, Texas
Atiana Alexander	So.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Public Health	San Antonio, Texas
Essence Allen	Fr.	Volleyball	Finance	Longview, Texas
Phoebe Alvarez	R-Fr.	Volleyball	Wildlife and Conservation Sci	Greenville, Texas
Ryan Amador	So.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Jonesboro, Ark.
Sydney Andersen	Sr.	Volleyball	Accounting	Placentia, Calif.
Arnezz Archie	R-Jr.	Football	Industrial Engineering	Spring, Texas
Lauren Banning	So.	Women’s Soccer	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Pflugerville, Texas
Brandon Bascue	R-Jr.	Football	Accounting	Flower Mound, Texas
Devin Beamon	Jr.	Football	Electrical Engineering	Forney, Texas
Michelle Becker	So.	Women’s Golf	Finance	San Antonio, Texas
Brody Blackmon	Grad	Men’s Golf	Health, Kinesiology & Sport Studies	Sulphur Springs, Texas
Kara Blasingame	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Finance	Oswego, Ill.
Avery Boley	So.	Softball	Chemistry	Fort Worth, Texas
Delaney Boley	Fr.	Softball	Biological Science	Fort Worth, Texas
Evelyn Brown	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Psychology	Paris, Texas
Rodney Brown	R-Sr.	Men’s Basketball	Business Administration	Beaumont, Texas
Lexi Bubenchik	Sr.	Women’s Golf	Liberal Studies	New Concord, Ohio
Frank Burnell	Fr.	Football	Undeclared	Keller, Texas
Jack Bussey	R-Fr.	Football	Sport & Recreation Management	Scurry, Texas
Leslie Campuzano	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Public Health	Garland, Texas
Drew Carstens	Fr.	Football	Finance	Bridgeport, Texas
Taryn Cast	R-So.	Volleyball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Peaster, Texas
Chelsea Cheek	Sr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Counseling	Baytown, Texas
Matt Childers	R-Jr.	Football	Business Administration	Henderson, Texas
Caleb Cilumba	Sr.	Football	Finance	Keller, Texas
Emerson Coburn	Fr.	Volleyball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Lewisville, Texas
Chance Cooper	Sr.	Football	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Leander, Texas
Shamon Craver	Fr.	Athletic Training	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Dallas, Texas
Kyla Crawford	Fr.	Volleyball	Business Administration	Cypress, Texas
Amber Crews	Jr.	Women’s Soccer	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Lewisville, Texas
McKenna Cross	Fr.	Softball	Biological Science	Beaumont, Texas
Joe Cruz	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Computer Science	Hillsboro, Texas
Isaiah Curry	Sr.	Football	Learning & Technology	Oxon Hill, Md.
Chris Dascher	R-So.	Football	Business Administration	Boca Raton, Fla.
Riley Davidson	Sr.	Volleyball	Marketing	Commerce, Texas
Da’Jia Davis	So.	Softball	Public Health	Hillsboro, Texas
Jewelz Demps	Fr.	Football	Technology Management	Forney, Texas
Veronica Diaz	So.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Biological Science	San Angelo, Texas
Maiya Dickie	R-So.	Volleyball	Public Health	Huntsville, Texas
Austin Dodd	R-Fr.	Football	Management	Sulphur Springs, Texas
Mackenzie Dugi	Fr.	Softball	Biological Science	St. Hedwig, Texas
Samantha Dutton	R-Fr.	Softball	General Studies	Tulsa, Okla.
Uzo Ebinama	R-Fr.	Football	Criminal Justice	Garland, Texas
Carson Edwards	Fr.	Volleyball	Criminal Justice	Lubbock, Texas
D’Angelo Ellis	Sr.	Football	Management	Cypress, Texas
Dominion Ezinwa	Sr.	Football	Management	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Trayveon Franklin	So.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Montgomery, Texas
Clifford Funderburk	R-Fr.	Football	Business Administration	Forney, Texas
Paige-Lee Garris	Sr.	Women’s Golf	Political Science	West Palm Beach, Fla.
Abigail Gatlin	So.	Softball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	San Antonio, Texas
Zach Gilmore	Fr.	Football	Electrical Engineering	Daingerfield, Texas
Katie Givens	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Learning & Technology	Rockwall, Texas
Nicki Gonelli	R-Jr.	Volleyball	Sociology	Round Rock, Texas
Lily Griffin	Fr.	Women’s Golf	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Palmerston North, New Zealand
Tyler Guillory	Grad	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Business Administration	Houston, Texas
Shelby Guin	Jr.	Athletic Training	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Tomball, Texas
Noah Harris	R-So.	Football	Physics	Stratford, Texas
Kinsie Hebler	Sr.	Softball	Biological Science	Cypress, Texas
Sophie-Charlott Hempel	Sr.	Women’s Golf	Psychology	Pirmasens, Germany
Dylan Henderson	Sr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Health, Kinesiology & Sport Studies	Duncanville, Texas
Christina Hernandez	Fr.	Women’s Soccer	Interdisciplinary Studies	Denison, Texas
Symmone James	R-Fr.	Women’s Basketball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	McKinney, Texas
Bryson Jenkins	R-So.	Football	Sport & Recreation Management	Frisco, Texas
Nathan Jester	R-Fr.	Football	History	Austin, Texas
Corben Jimenez	Fr.	Football	Business Administration	Klein, Texas
Braeja Johnson	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Biological Science	Crowley, Texas
Tori Johnson	Fr.	Athletic Training	Undecided – Pre-Nursing	Grand Prairie, Texas
Jadin Jones	Fr.	Football	Public Health	Killeen, Texas
William Keeler	Fr.	Football	Undeclared	Gallup, N.M.
Chandler King	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Computer Science	Hughes Springs, Texas
Kaitlyn King	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Finance	Frisco, Texas
Sean-Krystoff King	Fr.	Football	Computer Science	Humble, Texas
Leo Lara	R-Jr.	Men’s Basketball	Sport & Recreation Management	Santa Rosa, Texas
Antonio Leali’ie’e	R-Sr.	Football	Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Copperas Cove, Texas
Spencer Long	So.	Football	General Studies	Mont Belvieu, Texas
Kayla Lucas	R-Fr.	Volleyball	Public Health	Colorado Springs, Texas
Madison Luther	Jr.	Volleyball	Marketing	Sealy, Texas
Gage Marshall	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Yenifer Martinez	So.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Irving, Texas
Brooklyn Matthews	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Accounting	Commerce, Texas
Hallie McCarroll	Jr.	Women’s Soccer	General Studies	Frisco, Texas
Tyler McDonough	Grad	Men’s Golf	Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Horseshoe Bay, Texas
Michael McIntosh	Fr.	Football	Accounting	Beaumont, Texas
Riley McIntyre	Fr.	Men’s Basketball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Austin, Texas
Cooper Miller	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Electrical Engineering	Big Spring, Texas
Hunter Miller	R-Fr.	Football	Electrical Engineering	Bushland, Texas
Dallas Millin	Sr.	Men’s Golf	Finance	Wright, Wyo.
Uxua Modrego	Fr.	Softball	Biological Science	Burlada, Spain
Ta’Lyn Moody	Sr.	Softball	Secondary Education	Mansfield, Texas
Matt Mora	R-Sr.	Football	General Business	Manor, Texas
Mallory Morgan	Jr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Biological Science	Katy, Texas
Maryam Muhammad	Sr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Interdisciplinary Studies	Spring, Texas
Patrick Mulligan	So.	Men’s Golf	Management	Dallas, Texas
Tehillah Ndhlovu	So.	Women’s Soccer	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	York, England
Solomon Ndukwe	R-Jr.	Football	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Alief, Texas
Kimber Neal	Jr.	Softball	Political Science	Humble, Texas
Karlee Nichols	Jr.	Women’s Golf	Public Health	San Antonio, Texas
Danielle Nicholson	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Undecided – Pre-Nursing	McKinney, Texas
Michael Noble	So.	Football	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Orange, Calif.
Dorian Norris	Fr.	Women’s Basketball	Construction Engineering	Lake Dallas, Texas
Keekee Nowlin	Sr.	Women’s Basketball	Public Health	Bryan, Texas
Tyson Oliver	Fr.	Football	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Royse City, Texas
Inma Ortiz Prieto	Jr.	Women’s Golf	AgSciTech/Ornament Hort Emphas	Huelva, Spain
Emily Otto	Jr.	Softball	Interdisciplinary Studies	Richmond, Texas
Axel Paolucci	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	General Business	Lyon, France
Cally Pausewang	Sr.	Softball	Mathematics	Bastrop, Texas
Jessie Payne	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Accounting	Greenville, Texas
Alex Peavy	R-So.	Men’s Basketball	Sport & Recreation Management	San Antonio, Texas
Aiden Pelphrey	So.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Sport & Recreation Management	Princeton, Texas
Ashley Pennington	So.	Volleyball	Psychology	Frisco, Texas
Ushan Perera	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Construction Engineering	Mahabage, Sri Lanka
Jen Peters	So.	Women’s Soccer	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Allen, Texas
Cameron Proctor	Jr.	Football	Criminal Justice	Oxon Hill, Md.
Hyaznarely ‘Nelly’ Ramirez	Sr.	Athletic Training	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Greenville, Texas
Dominique Ramsey	R-Sr.	Football	Industrial Engineering	Converse, Texas
Maddy Rashford	R-Fr.	Volleyball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Placentia, Calif.
Kyevon Rider	R-So.	Football	Mathematics	Whitehouse, Texas
Rylie Robertson	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Interdisciplinary Studies	Rockwall, Texas
Ashlyn Romine	Fr.	Volleyball	Environmental Science	Rye, Colo.
Brianda Rosales-Ramirez	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Celina, Texas
Niv Rozenholtz	Fr.	Men’s Basketball	General Business	St. Legier, Switzerland
Lauren Ruminer	So.	Women’s Soccer	Visual Communication	Durant, Okla.
Mason Russ	Jr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Grove, Okla.
Steven Sanchez	Sr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies	New Braunfels, Texas
Madison Schaefer	So.	Softball	Finance	Frisco, Texas
Bella Schmukal	Fr.	Volleyball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Rockwall, Texas
Makenzie Schott	Fr.	Women’s Basketball	Undecided – Pre-Nursing	Flower Mound, Texas
Lauren Shaw	So.	Women’s Soccer	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Livingston, Texas
Shelbi Sheppard	R-So.	Volleyball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Emory, Texas
Alex Shillow	R-Sr.	Football	Business Administration	Pflugerville, Texas
Ashley Shipley	Fr.	Women’s Basketball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Tucumcari, N.M.
Aislynn Shore	Fr.	Volleyball	Criminal Justice	Hockley, Texas
Jayde Sickels	Fr.	Volleyball	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Greenville, Texas
Jhonee’ Simpson	Fr.	Athletic Training	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Mount Pleasant, Texas
Naomi Sink	So.	Women’s Soccer	Criminal Justice	Plano, Texas
Dixon Siuele	Sr.	Football	General Studies	Pago Pago, American Samoa
Destiny Skidmore	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Studio Art	Marshfield, Mo.
Chealsea Slider	Sr.	Softball	Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Texarkana, Ark.
Asiyha Smith	R-Fr.	Women’s Basketball	Criminal Justice	Conway, Ark.
Austin Smith	R-Sr.	Football	Liberal Studies	Buford, Ga.
D’Ante Smith	Fr.	Football	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Richardson, Texas
Anne Spearman	Jr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Mansfield, Texas
Connor Stockerl	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Business Administration	Conroe, Texas
Melissa Storey	Fr.	Women’s Soccer	General Business	Tyne and Wear, England
Jovin Tan	Jr.	Men’s Golf	Business Administration	Taiping, Malaysia
Adrian Taylor	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Business Administration	Stellenbosch, South Africa
Dejhia Taylor	Sr.	Athletic Training	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Prosper, Texas
Imani Taylor	R-Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Sulphur Springs, Texas
Jordan Teal	Fr.	Men’s Basketball	Psychology	Austin, Texas
Dylan Theiss	Grad	Athletic Training	Health, Kinesiology & Sport Studies	Hackensack, N.J.
Karena Tipton	R-Fr.	Volleyball	Sport & Recreation Management	Midlothian, Texas
Sarah Tipton	Fr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Biological Science	Forney, Texas
Tanner Townsend	Fr.	Men’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field, Cross Country	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Royse City, Texas
Keinoshin Toyota	Grad	Athletic Training	Health, Kinesiology & Sport Studies	Hiroshima, Japan
Iniuto Ukpong	Sr.	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Arlington, Texas
Celeste Vela	Jr.	Volleyball	Industrial Engineering	Guadalajara, Mexico
Carter Waid	Fr.	Football	Marketing	Plano, Texas
Hailey Wanoreck	Grad	Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field	Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Beaumont, Texas
Izzy Ward	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Public Health	McKinney, Texas
Cora Welch	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Visual Communication	Plano, Texas
Cedrick Wilcox III	Sr.	Football	Business Administration	Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Ariana Williams	Jr.	Athletic Training	Kinesiology & Sports Studies	Mansfield, Texas
Saylor Williams	Fr.	Softball	Undecided – Pre-Nursing	Jacksonville, Texas
Christian Wise	R-So.	Football	Liberal Studies	Houston, Texas
Sarah Wongsinth	Sr.	Women’s Golf	Sport & Recreation Management	Udon Thani, Thailand
Devlen Woods	R-Fr.	Football	General Business	Tyler, Texas
Diamond Woods	Fr.	Volleyball	Marketing	Killeen, Texas
Madison Zick	Sr.	Women’s Soccer	Communication Studies	Arlington, Texas