February 26, 2013
LIONS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH LADY BUFFS AND ZIAS
West Texas A&M at A&M-Commerce
Wednesday, February 27 - 5:30 p.m.
Commerce, Texas
Records: West Texas A&M (16-11, 12-6 LSC); A&M-Commerce (9-14, 7-11 LSC)
Live Stats: Lionathletics.com
Live Audio/Video: Lionathletics.com
A&M-Commerce at Eastern New Mexico
Saturday, March 2 - 3:00 p.m.
Portales, New Mexico
Records: A&M-Commerce (9-14, 7-11 LSC); Eastern New Mexico (7-19, 6-12 LSC)
Live Stats: goeasternathletics.com
Audio/Video: goeasternathletics.com
Women's Basketball Weekly Notes.pdf
Opening Tip: The Lions close out the season with a home date with West Texas and a road trip to Eastern New Mexico before the LSC Tournament in Allen next week. The game in Portales will likely determine the seventh or the eighth seed in Allen. A&M-Commerce and Eastern New Mexico are 1 game apart in the seventh and eighth spot in the current standings. A&M-Commerce clinched a spot in the LSC Tournament with the win against Cameron on Saturday. The Lions will make their first appearance in the conference tournament since the 2008-09 season and this will be the first time Head Coach Nicole Anderson will take her team into postseason.
Lions on the Web: Stay up to date with every Lion basket this week. Wednesday and Saturday games against the Lady Buffs and Zias will be broadcast live on KETR 88.9 FM with Charlie Chitwood on the call, while also streaming live online at KETR.org. The game Wednesday against West Texas will be streamed on Lionathletics.com and the Saturday game against Eastern New Mexico will be streamed live at goeasternathletics.com, with live stats of both games available on both sites. Twitter users can also get in-game updates by following @Lion_Athletics.
Series Score: The Lady Buffs have handled the Lions recently winning seven straight dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Lions have only won five times against the Lady Buffs in 46 games all-time. The Lions have fared better against the Zias posting 23 wins against the Zias, including getting the win against Eastern when they came to the Field House earlier this season. The Lions dropped both games last season after winning five straight in the series.
Scouting the Lady Buffs:
2012-13: 16-11, 12-6 LSC
Last Three Games: W, at Texas Woman's 60-57; W, vs. Incarnate Word 70-51; W, Texas A&M-Kingsille 79-67
Head Coach: Krista Gerlich - Seventh Season - Record at WT: 164-52 .759
Key Players
• #2 Devin Griffin: 16.0 ppg / 7.0 rpg / 2.5 apg / 76.9% FT
• #44 Chontiquah White: 13.5 ppg / 8.1 rpg / 73.4% FT / 54% FG
• #10 Casey Land: 8.9 ppg / 2.9 rpg / 3.5 rpg / 80% FT
West Texas has won four straight games and have only lost three times so far this calendar year. The Lady Buffs are currently first in the LSC in scoring defense and fourth in scoring offense. West Texas is also first in rebounding defense with a 33.9 average per game. Sharing the ball is also where the Lady Buffs are tops, leading the LSC in assists per game with 16.0 a game. The offense is paced by Devin Griffin, who is second in the LSC in ppg. White is also in the top 10 in the LSC in scoring and fifth in rebounding with her 8.1 per game clip.
Scouting the Zias:
2012-13: 7-19, 6-12 LSC
Last Three Games: L, vs. Incarnate Word 64-61; W, vs. A&M-Kingsville 76-60; W, at Texas Woman's 80-70
Head Coach: Lindsey Wilson - Second Season - 17-26
Key Players
• #10 Tara Johnson: 7.9 ppg / 4.4 rpg / 2.1 apg / 75% FT
• #12 Hannah Altheide: 7.0 ppg / 2.8 rpg / 2.3 apg / 33.8% 3PT FG
• #31 Nelsha Peterson: 7.0 ppg / 3.8 rpg / 47.7% FG / 70.9% FT
Eastern New Mexico is .500 over their last six games. The Zias have struggled on offense this season and do not have a player ranked in the top 30 in the LSC in terms of a scoring. Eastern New Mexico does not have a player in the top 20 of rebounding as well. The Zias do not have a player in the ranked in most individual statistical categories.
Harris among LSC leaders: A&M-Commerce junior forward currently ranks fifth in the conference in scoring, 15.3 ppg, and third in rebounding with 10.3 rebounds per game. She also leads the conference in offensive rebounds per game at 5.5. Harris is tied for 12th in the country with 13 double-doubles. Harris is also 19th in the country with 10.3 rpg average. Coming into the week Harris ranks 19th in the country in rebounds per game.
Double Figures: After back-to-back 18 point 11 rebound performances against Midwestern State and Cameron Breanna Harris has scored in at least 10 points in 12 of her last 13 games and has 19 games this season of at least 10 points. Danielle Dixon has also scored in double figures in eight straight games after only having three before this current streak.
S.W.A.T.S.: The Lions are currently sixth in the LSC in blocks as a team with a 2.0 average.
Master Thieves: A&M-Commerce ranks fifth in the conference as a team in terms of steals with 9.2 per game. The Lions do not have a single player in the top 10 in steals.
Big on the Boards: So far this season the Lions are the best rebounding team in the conference averaging 43.4 rebounds per game. Those 43.4 rebounds lead to a +4.4 rebounding margin per game, which puts them third in the LSC. The Lions are first in offensive rebound percentage, .425, A&M-C is the only team over 40 percent.
Brown's Last Six: The freshmen forward is averaging 13 points and 9.6 rebounds over her last six games.
Three-Point Struggles: This season the Lions have struggled shooting from behind the three point line. A&M-C is currently tenth in LSC in 3PT percentage per game at 23.2% on the season. A&M-C is 275th in 3PT shooting in the country. The Lions have only shot over 40% four times this season.
Not So Charity Stripe: The Lions are currently last in the conference in free throw percentage as a team, shooting 60.2% from the line. The last five games have been better for the Lions. Over that span the Lions have shot over 77%. The Lions rank 263th in country in FT shooting.
Who is Next: The conference tournament begins next week in Allen on Wednesday. The Lions could be either the seventh or the eighth seed depending outcomes this week. If the Lions are the seven seed then they play at 12 noon on Wednesday in Allen. If the Lions are the eight seed then they play at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
