Box Score (PDF)

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Texas A&M-Commerce took advantage of 24 Midwestern State turnovers and 22 offensive rebounds, scoring 23 points off turnovers and tallying 17 second chance points to come away with a 69-64 win Thursday evening at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce (14-5, 8-3 LSC) recorded its largest lead of the night at 66-58 with 2:06 remaining following a 12-4 run to break a tied game five minutes earlier. Midwestern State (5-12, 2-9 LSC) made one final push down the stretch with a 6-1 spurt to pull within three with 1:05 to play after four-straight points from Micheline Mercelita. However, the Mustangs were unable to pull even following a turnover in the final seconds before Jenna Price knocked down two free throws to seal the win for the Lions.
 
Jennifer Arbuckle scored eight of MSU's 15 points in the opening period as the Mustangs jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. A pair of three-pointers for Artaejah Gay and Krystal Pickron helped the Lions put together a 10-2 run in a 1:42 span before taking a three-point advantage after the first period.
 
It was close second period until a three-pointer for Brianna Wise pushed the TAMUC lead to seven at 34-27 with 1:27 left in the half. A Kristin Rydell jumper brought the Mustangs to within five at the half.
 
Midwestern State pulled within one early in the third period following a Rydell three and a basket for Avery Queen. A technical foul on TAMUC resulted in a 6-0 MSU run in just 25 seconds with Mercelita scoring four points to propel the Mustangs to a 44-41 lead with 3:44 remaining in the period. MSU was held without a field goal the rest of the quarter with the Lions holding a 53-50 lead after three.

NOTES
- Kristin Rydell led the Mustangs in scoring for the seventh time this season with 16 points while adding a career-best five assists and four steals
- Jennifer Arbuckle recorded a season-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with a team-high six boards
- Avery Queen, Whitney Taylor and Micheline Mercelita each added eight points with Mercelita also pulling down six rebounds
- Midwestern State matched a season-high 50 percent shooting on 21-of-42 from the field
- The Mustangs shot their second-highest percentage from the free-throw line this season with 82.6 percent on 19-of-23
- MSU committed more than 20 turnovers for the seventh time this season with their third highest amount
- Texas A&M-Commerce led 23-11 in points off turnovers and 17-6 in second chance points while shooting 34.8 percent
- The Lions held a 37-33 advantage on the glass with 22 of their 37 rebounds coming on the offensive end
- Jenna Price led the Lions with 19 points and seven rebounds
- Artaejah Gay added 15 points while Khala Riley totaled 11 points, seven boards, five assists and five steals
- TAMUC was now won four-straight games against Midwestern State for just the second time in the 64-game series (2006-08)

STAT OF THE GAME
33.3 – Texas A&M-Commerce scored a third of its points off 24 Midwestern State turnovers Thursday night (23 points)

UP NEXT 
Midwestern State next faces rival Tarleton State in a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.