ALLEN, Texas – When the shots aren't falling, good teams find ways to win. Midwestern State used a stingy defense to push forward against upset-minded Texas A&M-Commerce Friday in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Championship.

The second-seeded Mustangs fought off the Lions for a 65-60 win to advance to Saturday's final against the winner of West Texas A&M-Texas Woman's.

MSU (23-5) shot just 29.2 percent from the floor, but with seven blocks, including six in the first half and 22 forced turnovers, the Mustangs were able to keep the Lions at bay just enough.

In three straight possessions down the stretch, MSU had three steals to make sure the Lions never got closer than three points.

But it wasn't until Dianna Jones hit two free throws with seven second remaining did MSU finally put the game away. Jones led the Mustangs with 18 points, while All-LSC first-teamer Andrea Carter managed to score 14 points and pull down 11 rebounds. But Carter's shot wasn't falling early, as she hit only four of 14 attempts.

The big spark off the bench for MSU was Janae McJunkins, who made four of the team's seven 3-pointers, scoring 14 points.

After upsetting No. 3 seed Cameron on Thursday, A&M-Commerce couldn't extend its season, finishing with an even 14-14 record. Artaejah Gay led way for the Lions with 19 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Princess Davis scored 13 points with six boards and five assists. Gabby Scott added eight points and seven rebounds and five assists.

In the first half, both teams had trouble finding a rhythm offensively but the lead got higher than five for either team until the final minute when MSU's Shatoia Gober hit a jumper to give the Mustangs a 27-20 halftime edge.

In the second frame, MSU pushed the lead to as high as 12 after a Jones 3-point basket with 16:50 to play but behind the strong point-guard play of Davis, the LSC's Freshman of the Year, the Lions kept fighting back.

With 2:21 to play, Gay's layup cut the lead to 58-55 but that's when Carter stepped up, hitting a mid-ranger jumper and then had a steal on the other end. MSU's final five points were all made free throws by Jones to give the Mustangs the win.

MSU advances to the LSC Championship final and seeks its second title in three years. In 2013, the Mustangs claimed the tournament title on a last-second shot in overtime by then-sophomore Jones to defeat West Texas A&M, the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament.
 

Midwestern State Notes

    •    The Mustangs will improve to 23-5 on the season and move to 13-5 all-time in LSC tournament play.   
    •    Midwestern State will make its fourth tournament finals appearance.
    •    Andrea Carter recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds; she is the MSU record holder with 1,031 career boards.
    •    Midwestern led for 25:26 minutes in the contest and never trailed the Lions after a Carter free throw with 4:24 left in the first half.
    •    MSU had three players in double-figures with Dianna Jones leading her team with 18 points, with Carter and Janae McJunkins both with 14 points.
    •    The Mustangs went 3-0 against the Lions, and they are 42-18 against A&M-C in program history.
    •    MSU's allowed a season high 52 rebounds to the Lions and shot a season low 29.2 percent (16-65) from the field in the win.
    •    Senior forward Shambreka Jones blocked three shots against the Lions.  She needs one more to match Rulinda Vogtsberger's single season record total of 56 set during the 1979-80 season.
    •    Improved to 23-0 in games in which it scored at least 60 points this season.
 

Texas A&M-Commerce Notes

    •    Artaejah Gay finished with 19 points for her 13th double-digit game of season … She had back-to-back games in the LSC Tournament in double-digits.
    •    Princess Davis tallied 13 points for her 11th double-digit scoring game of the season … She had back-to-back games in the LSC Tournament in double-digits … Davis had five assists marking her 11th game with five or more assists.
    •    With the loss, the Lions end their season at 14-14 overall and 7-9 in the LSC … It is the first .500 winning percentage or above season for the Lions since the 2008-09 season.
    •    The loss drops A&M-Commerce to 42-18 against MSU … The Lions also fall to 10-19 in LSC Tournament games in their 19th trip.
    •    Lions committed 22 turnovers marking the 11th time A&M-Commerce finished with 20-plus turnovers … A&M-Commerce went 4-7 in games with more than 20 turnovers.