Women's basketball will return home this week for its final game of 2014, as the Lions (4-3) are set to host the East Central University Tigers (6-1) this Tuesday.
The Lions are just a day removed from a hard-fought game against NCAA Division I opponent Texas State, in which they narrowly lost 74-69. The Lions led 18-12 eight minutes of the game, and though they would give up the lead shortly thereafter, a pair of Gabby Scott threes brought the Lions within two with only three minutes left in the game. A&M-Commerce managed a season-low 11 turnovers in defeat, a point of pride for coach Jason Burton's squad.
"We'll go through our stuff and sharpen up some of the things that we didn't do well offensively against Texas State," said Burton, "We're just going to be watching a lot of film on East Central and talk about how we're going to approach them."
La'Tisha Hearne enters the game with both Offensive and Defensive LSC Player of the Week honors to her name. The senior forward once again led the Lions in scoring against the Bobcats with 16 points. With three double-doubles on the season, she seems poised for a career-year, and the Lions will rely on her to once again step up against the Tigers.
Senior forward Abigail Leaupepe-Tele was another of the Lions to submit a quality performance in San Marcos, scoring 12 points and six rebounds with four blocks in only 17 minutes of action. Princess Davis and Gabby Scott rounded out the other two double-digit scorers for the Lions in their previous contest.
For ECU, Jalyn Jackson has been the Tigers' most effective rebounder this year, averaging 7.3 RPG. On the offensive front, in their most recent game, a 63-48 win over Northwestern Oklahoma, Taylor Fischer led the way in scoring with 19 points by way of 5 threes. Dilan Webster was also a key contributor with 15 points and 8 rebounds to go along with four blocks.
The numbers heading into Tuesday's contest favor the Tigers as a team. Though the Lions enjoy a likely rebounding advantage by virtue of averaging 6.5 RPG more than ECU, the Tigers control most other categories. Thus far through the season, East Central has enjoyed superior shooting percentages and scoring margins to the Lions, but most profoundly, average 10.3 fewer turnovers per game with 8.6 compared to A&M-Commerce's 18.9
The Lions and Tigers have an extensive history dating back to the 1990-91 season, having played 20 games to date. The Tigers hold a 12-8 historical advantage, and have won the last four consecutive games. Prior to that, the Lions went 6-0 against East Central over a three season span between 2007 and 2009. The last time they played, the Tigers won in the Field House 75-71 back in 2011.
Tipoff is scheduled for Tuesday, December 16 at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for general admission, $3 for kids 4-12, and for children three and under, as well as students with a valid ID, admission is free of charge.