The Lion women (7-5 overall; 2-1 in LSC) continue their lengthy defense of the Field House this Wednesday, when they will put their three-game winning streak on the line against the visiting Cameron Aggies (4-7 overall; 1-1 in LSC).
The Lions are 4-1 at home this season, which includes a 104-73 win against Arlington Baptist. That was only the fifth time in school history the Lions surpassed the 100-point plateau, and was the third highest point-total ever recorded in the 44-year history of women's basketball at A&M-Commerce. Their most recent game last Sunday was an 80-57 victory over LSC-rivals Angelo State. The Lions saw five players reach double-digit scoring in the win, which moved them to 2-1 in conference play. As the Lions look to extend their winning streak to four games, fans can follow the action live by tuning into 88.9 KETR or 107.1 Thunder Country, or head to lionathletics.com for a live video feed.
A&M-Commerce has received stellar play from its backcourt for the duration of its current winning-streak. Freshman Princess Davis and Ashlee Johnson are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference in assists, averaging 4.2 and 3.7 per game respectively. Davis turned heads with a 20-point outburst against Arlington Baptist and averaged 2.7 steals per game over her last three contests. Johnson on the other hand has provided the Lions with very efficient scoring of late, averaging 13.7 points in her last three contests while shooting 66.7 percent from the field (14 of 21), 50 percent from deep (3 of 6) and 81.8 percent from the line (9 of 11). Not only that, she's contributed in many other phases of the game with 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game over the same stretch.
Strong bench play out of their reserve forwards has also been a key factor in the Lion attack as of late. Freshman Artaejah Gay has been a revelation in her last three games. Averaging only 15.3 minutes, Gay has scored 10.7 points, 6.7 boards and 1.3 assists per game on efficient 59.1 percent shooting (13 of 22) while chipping in a block and three steals. Redshirt senior Abigail Leaupepe-Tele meanwhile, despite averaging only 17.8 minutes per game, has logged five double-digit scoring performances on the season. She ranks fifth in the conference in blocks (0.9 BPG) and seventh in the LSC in rebounding (6.4 RPG).
Though Cameron is ranked sixth in the Lone Star Conference at 4-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play, they may be much better than their record indicates. Two of the Aggies' wins came against high-level competition in the form of a 76-70 win over Harding (11-2) at a neutral site and an 82-81 thriller over Southeastern Oklahoma State (12-3) on the road. Of the Aggies' seven losses, only one came at the hands of an opponent whose record is below .500. Adding up all of Cameron's opponents' records, they combine to be 96-48 on the season for a win percentage of .667.
The Aggies' undeniable strength comes from their ability to score from deep, as they lead the conference in three-point percentage, shooting 37.3 percent as a team. They are led by a pair of long-range assassins: junior guard Brandi Leal and senior guard Jade Herl, who lead the conference as No. 1 and No.2 in threes per game (3.4 and 2.9 3PG respectively). The two each average double-digit scoring (12.5 and 10.8), and in addition, Herl leads the conference in minutes per game.
Despite their proficiency from outside the arc, neither Leal nor Herl can be considered the Aggies' most lethal weapon. Senior guard Jazzmine Robinson is the leader in the conference in scoring at 18.5 points per game, and is also ranked third in the rebounding department at 8.6 RPG. Not only that, she scores from the field with great efficiency, shooting 45.4 percent from the field (74 of 163) For the Lions to counteract these threats, Johnson and Davis, in addition to guard Gabby Scott, will need to bring their A-games.
Cameron's big advantages over the Lions on paper are of course their aforementioned three-point proficiency (37.3 percent vs. 27.0 percent) as well as their ability to take care of the ball (16.5 turnovers per game vs. 18.3 for A&M-Commerce. However, the Lions are not without advantages of their own. They average 3.6 more rebounds per game (41.0 vs. 37.4), 2.1 more assists per game (13.2 vs. 11.1) and most strikingly, 2.1 more steals per game (8.3 vs. 6.2).
Wednesday will mark the 41st time the Lions and Aggies have gone at it, with A&M-Commerce controlling a razor-thin 21-19 advantage in the series. The Lions have prevailed in their last three meetings, but before that, Cameron had rattled off six straight wins against the Lions.