WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- After trailing by just four points at halftime, Midwestern State's static second half ends in an 81-35 defeat by No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce. The Thursday night rumble puts the Mustangs at 5-4 for the season.

MSU was flying in the first half, down by 32-28. The Mustangs shot 38 percent from the floor going 13-34. On the defensive side, the team held the Lions to 35 percent shooting with Dyani Robinson and Laila Lawrence posting eight points each.

The second quarter gave the home side the momentum they needed. Midwestern State stopped TAMUC from scoring in the first three minutes and gained their first lead of the game at 26-25. Frances King's layup took the lead with the sophomore finishing with four points on two of five shooting from the field.

Hannah Reynolds topped MSU with six points in the first 20 minutes of play. The forward added two rebounds three blocks. Reynolds would add one more block in the second half to wrap up.

In the second half, things started to go downhill. The seven points scored by the Mustangs is the lowest in a half in program history while MSU recorded the first game in team history without a field goal in a quarter.

Shawnisay Millar and Markayla Johnson each put up three points in the slump with Millar punching a field goal and free throw while Johnson took one from range. Millar registered five points and two rebounds on the night. Johnson also had five points and two boards, but attached a steal.

Midwestern State shot seven percent from the field and went two of four from the line. The team added 17 turnovers to the fire with the visitors capitalizing on 22 points.

TAMUC shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half and had 31 team rebounds. They went 12-16 from the charity stripe with Asiyha Smith knocking down five.

Lawrence added 11 points in the second period to lead Texas A&M-Commerce with 19 points. The forward went 8-16 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Robinson was close behind with 18 total points while redshirt sophomore DesiRay Kernal posted 13 boards.

Midwestern State hits the holiday break and returns to pick up Lone Star Conference play on Friday, Dec. 31. The Mustangs will ring in the New Year and the conference schedule at Texas A&M-Commerce with tip-off set for 2 p.m.