Frisco – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team fell 68-55 to No. 23 West Texas A&M in the semifinal round of the Lone Star Conference Championship on Saturday. The Lions fought hard throughout the game but the Lady Buffs pulled away in the final quarter.
 
The loss brings the Lions to 18-12 on the season and they are eliminated from the tournament. WT improves to 26-4 and advances to the championship game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- Brianna Wise led the Lions with 24 points, her 14th 20-point game of the season. She was 10-of-11 from the free throw line and led the team with eight rebounds.

- Artaejah Gay had eight points, bringing her career total to 1,282, the third most in school history.

- Princess Davis had eight points and two assists, taking her over the 300 assist mark in her career.

- Melanie Ransom scored seven points and Lauren Parker had six points.

- A&M-Commerce scored 23 points off of 24 WT turnovers.

- The Lions struggled from the field early, missing their first 14 shots of the game. The Lions shot 26 percent in the game.

- The Lions held WT scoreless for the final 5 minutes of the second quarter, ending the first half on a 13-0 run.

- A&M-Commerce is now 11-21 all-time in the LSC Tournament.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions struggled shooting early, missing their first 14 shots of the game. Wise hit two free throws to get the Lions on the board. Despite their shooting struggles, the Lion defense was able to cause multiple WT turnovers early in the quarter. The Lady Buffs also benefited from offensive rebounds early in the quarter, netting nine second-chance points.
 
Ransom hit a three with two minutes left to give the Lions their first field goal of the game. She hit two shots late in the quarter to keep the Lions in range. The Lions went into the second quarter trailing 16-9.
 
Wise hit two early shots in the second quarter as the Lions cut the WT lead down to three. Wise then hit a three to cut the WT lead to one point with seven and a half to play. The Lady Buffs answered back, beginning a 10-0 run to bring their lead to double digits. Midway through the quarter, WT led by eight.
 
The Lions started to fight back, driving into the lane to create contact and get to the foul line. Wise got to the line four times, helping to cut the WT lead back down to just four points with three minutes left. The Lion defense also picked up, tightening on shooters and drawing charges. The Lady Buffs were held scoreless for the final five minutes of the half.
 
Parker hit two free throws to tie the game with a minute left. After a strong defensive play, the Lions had one final possession in the half. Wise missed a shot but Gay was there for the offensive rebound and put back to take the Lions into halftime with a 30-28 lead. The Lions ended the half on a 13-0 run.
 
Wise led all scorers with 15 points in the first half, going 8-of-8 from the free throw line. The Lions held WT to just 34 percent shooting in the first half, 14 percentage points below their average. The Lions caused 15 WT turnovers in the first half, converting them into 16 points.
 
The Lions continued to attack the paint early in the second half. Wise and Gay both hit early buckets inside the paint as the Lions brought their lead to four points early. The Lady Buffs also attacked in transition and scored eight in a row to retake the lead. Midway through the quarter, the game was tied at 40.
 
The Lady Buffs caused turnovers on consecutive possessions and again started to pull away. They went on a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to take an 11-point lead. The Lions scored the last basket of the quarter and went into the fourth quarter down 53-44.
 
The Lions started the fourth quarter well. Wise hit a three and Davis hit a layup in transition to cut the WT lead to six points with seven minutes left. WT answered back to push their lead back up to 10 points. The Lions continued to fight the rest of the way but could not cut the lead down far enough to get back in.