No. 10 Lions host Cameron in the first of four games in seven days

COMMERCE – The 10th-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team starts a stretch of four key games in seven days after completing the Lone Star Conference North Division series with Cameron. 

WHO: Cameron at A&M-Commerce

WHERE: Commerce, Texas | The Field House

WHEN: 3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9

RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 10-1, Cameron is 6-5

RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce sits at No. 10 in the WBCA poll entering the night, though another WBCA poll will be released just before the game

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 

The latest

TAMUC is currently riding a six-game win streak that dates back to the 89-71 road victory over Cameron on January 14. The Lions now lead the LSC in scoring 76.5 points per game after a pair of wins over Texas Women. In those games, A&M-Commerce tied the school record for points allowed in a quarter, allowing four points in the first quarter of each TWU game. 

DesiRay Kernal was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week, and Juliana Louis was named the LSC Defensive Player of the Week after the series sweep of the Pioneers. 

Kernal (Newton, Kan.) was a dominant offensive presence for the No. 10 Lions in their divisional sweep of Texas Women. In the Thursday win, she had a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds, including seven boards on the offensive glass. She shot 5-of-9 from the floor, 7-of-8 at the free-throw line, and hit 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. In Saturday’s win on the road, she scored 19 points with ten made free throws and hit 57.1 percent of her shots from the floor. The third LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor for the Lions this season, as Dyani Robinson won the award on December 21 and February 1. 

Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) was the Lions’ top defensive star in the impressive divisional sweep of Texas Woman’s, where TAMUC limited the Pioneers to 51.5 points per game. The Lions held TWU to four points in the first quarter of both games and averaged a +20 rebounding margin. Louis had 11 points and eight rebounds in the Thursday win, then had six points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in the Saturday win. The Lions lead the league in rebounding at 42.4 boards per game and rank second in the conference with 11.82 steals per game. Louis wins the LSC Defensive Player of the Week honor for the second time this season, winning on December 21. 

The Lions now lead the LSC and rank 10th nationally in steals per game (11.82).

Dyani Robinson will rejoin the ranks of eligible players for statistical awards after this game, as a player must appear in 75 percent of their team’s games. Robinson will play in her ninth game as the Lions play their 12th. She averages 18.0 points per game to go with 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Her current scoring average is leading the LSC. 

On the opponent

The Cameron Aggies feature the No. 2-scorer in the LSC in Maighan Hedge, who scores 16.5 points per game. She also averages 3.7 assists per game and is 10th in the league in minutes per game. 

The Aggies ranked fourth in the league in scoring at 69.3 points per game and ranked 10th in the LSC in scoring defense, allowing 64.9 points per game. 

The earlier matchup

Robinson led all scorers with 23 points and five assists in an 89-71 win for the Lions in Lawton. 

In the series history

The 56th meeting between the schools, with A&M-Commerce holding a 32-23 lead in the series. The Lions are 17-8 at home against the Aggies and are on a six-game winning streak vs. Cameron, with the last loss in January of 2018.

Lions head to Tyler in early battles of unbeaten.

COMMERCE – The A&M-Commerce Lions will play their second series of the 2021 spring season, taking on fellow undefeated foe UT Tyler in the first two of four matches this season.

WHO: A&M-Commerce at UT Tyler

WHERE: Tyler | Louise Herrington Patriot Center

WHEN: 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9, and Wednesday, February 10

RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 2-0 on the season, while UT Tyler is 4-0.

RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: LSC Digital Network

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

 After one week:

A&M-Commerce is led by 11th-year head coach Craig Case, who is the winningest coach in program history. His record at A&M-Commerce stands at 186-127, entering the year after the second win over DBU. 

The Lions were divisional champions in 2019 and qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship. 

Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) was the Lions’ top all-around performer in the first series, earning LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors, recording a pair of double-doubles in a couple of five-set wins over DBU. In the Tuesday match, she hit .151 with 16 kills, 20 digs, and four service aces. She followed that up Wednesday with 13 kills, 20 digs, and an ace. 

She also had 37 service receptions without an error and chipped in on three blocks while holding DBU to a .099 hitting percentage, giving A&M-Commerce second in the league in opponent hitting percentage. 

Riley Davidson (Commerce) ranks eighth in the LSC in digs per set at 4.40, leading the team with 44 total digs. 

Taryn Cast (Peaster) leads the LSC in hitting percentage at .412 with 19 kills and five errors on 34 attempts.

On the opponent

UT Tyler is 4-0 with series sweeps of DBU and Texas Women. The Patriots lead the league in hitting at .273, while A&M-Commerce ranks second in the LSC in hitting defense, allowing a .099 hitting percentage. 

The Patriots have two players averaging over three kills per set in Mikayla Ware (3.60 k/s, .220) and Evelyn Torres (3.30 k/s, .342). Hattie Murray ranks fourth in the LSC in blocks (1.40 b/s).

 In the series history

The Lions and Patriots have met three times previously, with the Lions taking all three matches in sweeps. A&M-Commerce won one match in an early-season tournament in 2006, then swept the home-and-home series in 2019 in UTT’s first year in the league.

Ortiz Prieto, Lion women each stand in second after 36 holes at Jack Brown Memorial.

LAREDO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf team is in the second position after 36 holes of the Jack Brown Memorial hosted by Texas A&M International University.

The Lions shot a 628 (306-322, +52) and are 12 strokes behind leaders West Texas A&M and ten strokes ahead of St. Mary’s in third place. 

“Both teams are happy to be back playing competitive golf again. It’s been a while, and that was evident today as we tried to get the competitive juices following again,” said head coach Lauren Mason. “Both teams are sitting in the same situation going into the final round tomorrow. We are looking forward to making a run up the leaderboard tomorrow. Our best days are ahead of us!” 

Inma Ortiz Prieto (Huelva, Spain) is in second position on the individual leaderboard at 6-over par 150 (72-78), four strokes behind leader Loukyee Songprasert of West Texas A&M. She had three birdies in the first round of the day. She was two-under-par in the final five holes of the round. She had one birdie in the second round. 

Impressively, the Lions were quite consistent in the opening round, with nothing worse than a birdie carded across all five players. 

Karlee Nichols (Smithson Valley) is in 11th place at 159 (82-77, +15), and Sarah Wongsinth (Udon Thani, Thailand) made her season debut with a 36-hole score of 160 (78-82, +16) to sit in 12th place. 

Michelle Becker (San Antonio – Reagan) and Sophie-Charlott Hempel (Pirmasens, Germany) are tied for 21st place at 20-over par 164. 

The opening tournament of the spring closes with 18 holes of action starting at 8:00 am Tuesday.

Rank	Team	Scores		Total	Par
1.	West Texas A&M	303	313	616	+40
2.	Tex. A&M-Commerce	306	322	628	+52
3.	St. Mary’s	317	321	638	+62
4.	UT Tyler	321	321	642	+66
5.	Tex. A&M International	322	325	647	+71
6.	Angelo State	324	334	658	+82
7.	Tex. A&M-Kingsville	329	339	668	+92
8.	Western N.M.	363	335	698	+122

 

Tex. A&M-Commerce	306	322	628	+52	2nd
Inma Ortiz Prieto	72	78	150	+6	2nd
Karlee Nichols	82	77	159	+15	11th
Sarah Wongsinth	78	82	160	+16	12th
Michelle Becker	77	87	164	+20	t-21st
Sophie-Charlott Hempel	79	85	164	+20	t-21st

 

Burch, Lion men in fifth place after 36 holes of Jack Brown Memorial

LAREDO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team is in fifth place after 36 holes of the Jack Brown Memorial hosted by Texas A&M International University.

The Lions shot a 607 (310-29, +31) in the first two rounds of the spring and are 13 strokes behind St. Mary’s.

“We’ve got to get off to a hot start tomorrow, but only being 13 back, there is a chance to win,” said assistant coach Lucas McCubbin. “At one point today, the guys were only three strokes back but had a few rough holes to finish out the afternoon round. We are excited and have a good game plan for tomorrow.” 

Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) is in the running for all-tournament status in fifth place at 4-over par 148 (75-73). He had three birdies in both rounds and was one of two tournament players winning an eagle, carding a two on the par-4 fourth hole in the second round. 

Chance Mulligan (Dallas – Bishop Dunne) is in 11th place on the leaderboard at 8-over par 152 (78-74) with one birdie in the opening round and three birdies in the second round. Joe Wolcik (Cleveland – Tarkington) is in 19th place at 10-over par 154 (81-73) with one birdie in the first round and a team-best five birdies in the second round. 

Tripp Wallace (Wolfforth – Frenship) is in 25th at 256 (79-77, +12) with three total birdies and Brody Blackmon (Sulphur Springs) is in 26th at 157 (+13, 78-79) with two birdies. 

The opening tournament of the spring closes with 18 holes of action starting at 8:00 am Tuesday

Rank	Team	Scores		Total	Par
1.	St. Mary’s	301	293	594	+18
2.	Rogers State	303	294	597	+21
3.	UT Tyler	296	305	601	+25
4.	Tex. A&M International	302	300	602	+26
5.	Tex. A&M-Commerce	310	297	607	+31
6.	Lubbock Christian	307	303	610	+34
7.	Arkansas-Ft. Smith	315	315	630	+54

 

Tex. A&M-Commerce	310	297	607	+31	5th
Zach Burch	75	73	148	+4	t-5th
Chance Mulligan	78	74	152	+8	t-11th
Joe Wolcik	81	73	154	+10	t-19th
Tripp Wallace	79	77	156	+12	25th
Brody Blackmon	78	79	157	+13	26th

Kernal and Louis sweep LSC Player of the Week awards

RICHARDSON – Texas A&M University-Commerce’s DesiRay Kernal and Juliana Louis have been named the Lone Star Conference’s women’s basketball offensive and Defensive Players of the Week. 

Kernal (Newton, Kan.) was a dominant offensive presence for the No. 10 Lions in their divisional sweep of Texas Women. In the Thursday win, she had a double-double with 18 points and ten rebounds, including seven boards on the offensive glass. She shot 5-of-9 from the floor, 7-of-8 at the free-throw line, and hit 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. In Saturday’s win on the road, she scored 19 points with ten made free throws and hit 57.1 percent of her shots from the floor. It is the third LSC Offensive Player of the Week honor for the Lions this season, as Dyani Robinson won the award on Dec. 21 and Feb. 1. 

Louis (Long Beach, Calif.) was the Lions’ top defensive star in the impressive divisional sweep of Texas Woman’s, where TAMUC limited the Pioneers to 51.5 points per game. The Lions held TWU to four points in the first quarter of both games and averaged a +20 rebounding margin. Louis had 11 points and eight rebounds in the Thursday win, then had six points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in the Saturday win. The Lions lead the league in rebounding at 42.4 boards per game and rank second in the conference with 11.82 steals per game. Louis wins the LSC Defensive Player of the Week honor for the second time this season, also winning on Dec. 21. 

The Lions (10-1) are slated to host three games this week, starting with a 3:00 pm Tuesday tipoff vs. Cameron. The Lions will then host Texas A&M-Kingsville at 5:00 pm Friday and 3:00 pm Saturday.

LONE STAR CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Date	Offensive	Defensive
Dec. 14	Ashton Duncan, Lubbock Christian	Anastacia Mickens, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Dec. 21	Dyani Robinson, A&M-Commerce	Juliana Louis, A&M-Commerce
Jan. 5	Lexy Hightower, West Texas A&M	Nicole Heyn, Texas A&M International
Jan. 11	Brooklin Bain, Oklahoma Christian	Haevyn Risley, Midwestern State
Jan. 18	Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian	Abby Spurgin, West Texas A&M
Jan. 25	Lexy Hightower, West Texas A&M (2)	Juliana Robertson, Lubbock Christian
Feb. 1	Dyani Robinson, A&M-Commerce (2)	Hannah Wilson, St. Mary’s
Feb. 8	DesiRay Kernal, A&M-Commerce	Juliana Louis, A&M-Commerce (2)