The A&M-Commerce women ended their season on an emotional high, snapping a 21-game losing streak with a 63-60 victory over Angelo State at The Field House on Saturday. The Lions (2-24 overall, 1-19 LSC) also ended a two-year winless drought in Lone Star Conference competition.
The Lions came into the game itching to grab their second win of the season, but struggled to score a field goal in the opening minutes of the game.
With 15:13 remaining in the first half, Angelo State (12-14 overall, 10-10 LSC) had gained their largest margin of the half at five but A&M-Commerce quickly responded keeping the score close. The Lions took their first lead of the game with 6:36 remaining by a score of 14-13.
With just under three minutes left in the opening half, A&M-Commerce took a 10-point advantage on a pair of field goals from Bianca Stevenson and a three-pointer from Devin Oliver. The Lions gained their largest margin of the first half with 2:41 remaining.
A&M-Commerce had a two-point edge on the Rambelles until guard Leah LeMaire knocked down a triple at the buzzer, giving the Rambelles a 24-23 halftime lead.
It became an intense game and the crowd was into it like never before when A&M-Commerce regained a two-point lead with seven and a half minutes remaining, 47-45. From that point on there was scoring back and forth between the two teams and the game stayed incredibly tight.
Breanna Harris kept the Lions hopes alive, scoring a field goal along with a free throw to take a three-point advantage. Angelo State answered with a pair of triples that tied the game back up at 61 with a minute left in the game.
With 13.4 seconds remaining on the game clock, Lions leading scorer Dixon knocked down a triple to give the Lions a three point lead, but left Angelo State enough time for a possession. The Rambelles failed to convert in the last seconds of the game and and Dixon dribbled out the clock to give the Lions a very emotional victory.
For the Lions, Harris and La’Tisha Hearne led the way with impressive numbers. It was another double-double for forward Harris as she dropped in 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Hearne had 12 points with five rebounds.
The Rambelles had three players in double digits in the game. LeMaire led in scoring with 18 points shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Freshman forward Haylee Oliver dropped 16 points and Paige Weishuhn added 13 points.