Lions’ forwards Dominee Evans and Nola Taylor each had double double performances to lead No. 12 Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s’ basketball team in a 65-40 rout of Southern Arkansas on Monday night.
Evans had a team-high 15 points and a career and game-high 14 rebounds in 29 minutes. Taylor came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of action to lead A&M-Commerce to its 16th win a row at the confines of the A&M-Commerce Field House.
The Lions raise their record to 4-1 while the Lady Muleriders drop to the .500 mark at 3-3.
A&M-Commerce dominated the inside play for the entire game, grabbing 43 offensive rebounds and scoring 32 points in the paint and 20 on second-chance efforts. In her first start at A&M-Commerce, junior Brittany Williams also had double-digit rebounds with 12.
Junior All-American candidate Britney Jordan added 11 points, five assists and four steals.
Southern Arkansas’ Goldie White scored a team-high 15 points for the Lady Muleriders. Teammates Calisha Kirk and Kayla Jones each shared a team-high seven rebounds.
A&M-Commerce raced out to a 13-2 start before SAU closed the deficit to five, 22-17, on a Jones lay up at the 6:38 mark.
The Lions would not allow the Lady Muleriders to draw any closer and would extend the margin to as much 22, 54-32, in the second half.
In the second session, A&M-Commerce held SAU to three field goals and a paltry 15 percent shooting from the field.
The Lions will now turn their attention to the Lone Star Conference and face pre-season No. 4 West Texas A&M in Canyon at 6 p.m. tonight. The action will be broadcast live on KETR (88.9 FM) and www.ketr.org.
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Holiday Classic
Junior Britney Jordan scored 39 points, including eight 3-pointers, but it was not enough as No. 6 Washburn defeated the No. 12 Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team, 79-76 in the championship game of the Capitol Plaza Hotel/580 WIBW Radio Holiday Classic and a rematch of the 2007 NCAA South Central Regional final.
Washburn’s (4-0) Corkey Staiger scored 25 points to lead three Lady Blues in double figures along with Amanda Holmes and Hope Gregory, who added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
A&M-Commerce (3-1) was led by the 39 points from Jordan. Senior Katedria Mosley nearly had her second double double of the season with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Off the bench, junior Brittany Williams gave a spark to the Lions with nine points, five steals and four rebounds.
Trailing by four, Washburn scored 12 of the first 13 points of the second half to take a 37-30 lead on the Lions.
Jordan brought the Lions back into the game when she hit a 3-pointer with 10:58 left in the game to give A&M-Commerce a 48-47 lead with 10:56 remaining.
The junior from Peoria scored seven of the next nine points to put A&M-Commerce in front 53-49 at the 10:07 mark.
Washburn rallied to tie the game at 55 and again at 59 when Gregory made a 3-pointer.
The Lady Blues took over the game when Janice Bright made a pair of free throws and Staiger took a steal and converted an uncontested layup for a 63-59 lead. The Lions would stay within a possession of tying it; however, the Lady Blues made seven of eight free throws to keep the Lions from making the come-from-behind effort.
The Lions took the first game of the Capitol Plaza hotel/580 WIBW Radio Holiday Classic by defeating Rockhurst, 77-50, on Nov. 22.
Jordan and Mosley fired in 17 points apiece to pace the Lions.
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The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team looked deserving of its No. 12 preseason ranking in the USA TODAY ESPN Division II poll by routing the Paul Quinn Tigers, 79-43, in the Lions’ home opener Tuesday night.
After Jasmine Stevenson gave the Tigers an early 2-0 lead, the Lions took control going on a 25-6 run to take a 25-8 lead at the 8:42 mark of the first half and never looked back.
Bratton dropped in a lay-up and fired in a 3-pointer followed by another from Genevieve Campbell to take a 38-12 advantage.?The A&M-Commerce defense was fiery all night as well, holding the Tigers to only 27.1 percent shooting.
“I think at times we really showed our athleticism,” said Lions’ head coach Denny Downing.
The first half saw the Lions take a 50-14 advantage on the backs of Katedria Mosley and Melissa Bratton in the squad’s new white and yellow home jerseys.
Mosley grabbed 10 boards and dropped in nine points in the half, while Bratton fired in 17. A&M-Commerce got comfortable beyond the arc as well, going five-of-six in the first session with Bratton and Campbell nailing two apiece. The Tigers were able to score with the Lions in the second half as each team scored 29.
Crystal Debose tried the claw the Tigers back into the game with three 3-pointers, but the A&M-Commerce defense stayed strong in the paint.
Overall, the Lions totaled 13 steals, two blocks and forced 20 turnovers. Mosley and Dominee Evans paced the Lions on the night as each tallied a double-double. Mosley finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Evans added 12 points and 11 boards.
“Those two post players are really playing well together,” said Downing.
Standout guard Britney Jordan made her first appearance of the season, contributing 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals. The Lions controlled all facets of the game, outscoring the Tigers 34-20 in the paint, 22-6 off turnovers and 27-12 on second chance points.