Game Book (PDF)

THE RUNDOWN
COMMERCE, Texas – Texas A&M-Commerce scored 27 points off 25 Midwestern State turnovers and doubled up the Mustangs 32-16 in the paint to record a 73-60 victory after a second half surge Saturday afternoon at the A&M-Commerce Field House.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce (6-2, 2-0 LSC) outscored the Mustangs 43-26 in the second half as the Lions erased a 34-30 halftime deficit, forcing Midwestern State (2-5, 0-2 LSC) to 14 turnovers and a 32.0 shooting percentage in the final 20 minutes to hand the Mustangs their fifth-straight defeat.
 
The Mustangs stretched their lead to eight in the first two minutes of the third quarter following treys from Leanna James and Whitney Taylor for MSU's largest lead of the game at 40-32. The Lions responded with a 10-0 run to take a two-point advantage before an Avery Queen layup stopped the TAMUC run with 4:25 to play. The Lions closed out the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to claim a 50-44 lead through three.
 
A&M-Commerce opened the final period on a 13-2 run to pull away from the Mustangs for good before posting the 73-60 victory, taking as much as a 19-point lead late in the fourth.
 
A pair of early three-pointers for Krystal Pickron helped the Lions create a cushion from the Mustangs midway through the first quarter for a 14-6 lead with 3:34 to play.
 
A 6-0 run for the Mustangs in a 1:25 span brought the Maroon and Gold within two with Jennifer Arbuckle netting four-straight points off the bench. The Mustangs held the Lions without a field goal the final 3:08 of the quarter with A&M-Commerce taking an 18-15 lead after one.
 
A jumper for Liz Cathcart at the 7:07 mark in the second evened the contest at 19 apiece before Jenna Price snapped a 6:42 field goal drought for the Lions on the ensuing possession to propel A&M-Commerce back in front.
 
A three-point play by Arbuckle out of a timeout gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game with 3:33 remaining in the half before the Lions went back ahead following a three from Brianna Wise for a 26-24 score.
 
Midwestern put together an 8-1 run in 1:22 with triples from Kristin Rydell and Mica Schneider and a steal and layup for Montoria Tripp to give MSU a 32-27 advantage with 1:24 to play before taking a 34-30 lead at the break.
 
NOTES
- Whitney Taylor and Kristin Rydell each recorded nine points to lead Midwestern State
- Jennifer Arbuckle, Anni Scholl and Mica Schneider each added seven points off the bench
- Midwestern State outshot its opponent for the second-straight game, finishing with a 40.4 shooting percentage while Texas A&M-Commerce posted a 34.3 percent clip
- A&M-Commerce posted an MSU opponent-best of 17 steals with Jenna Price leading the way with four
- Artaejah Gay led the Lions with 18 points in just 17 minutes of action
- The Lions won their third straight against Midwestern State -- just their third winning streak of three games or more in the series -- with the Mustangs leading the all-time series 42-21

STAT OF THE GAME
25 – Midwestern State committed its second-most turnovers of the season with 25 after totaling a season-high 26 Thursday in the Lone Star Conference opener at Tarleton State

UP NEXT 
Midwestern State begins a five-game homestand Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against No. 8 Angelo State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.