Jan. 5, 2006

Final Stats

COMMERCE, Texas - Lone Star Conference North Women's Player of the Week Kanani Marshal added another highlight performance Thursday night as she poured in a season-high 30 points for the Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team in a 83-64 romping of Tarleton State.

The Lions, who led the entire contest, advanced to 6-5 with the Lone Star Conference crossover win on 54.2 percent shooting from the field. A 44-18 advantage in the paint for the Lions was an added bonus with center Portia Mitchell, who contributed 13 points, making her first start after missing the first semester of the season.

"It was good to beat an established team like Tarleton State," head coach Denny Downing said.

The TexAnns (8-4) lost for the first time in five games, scoring just 14 points in the first half.

Althea Byfield sparked the Lions to an early lead with three consecutive layups in the first minutes of the game. She ended the contest with a season best of 16 points. Foul shots by Marshal would give the Lions a 10-0 lead to open the game.

Marshal, whose seven 3-pointers were one shy of tying the school's single game record, then led the charge with a 15-0 run for the Lions to end the first period. Already leading the conference in threes, her outing did set the conference's single-game mark for the season. She also grabbed nine boards and dished seven assists, both game highs.

"When our guards play that well," Mitchell said of her teammates, "there is no stopping us."

The Lions advantage ballooned to as much as 28 in the middle of the second half. But TSU did come back to score 50 points in he final frame with the help of Katie Crawford's six threes, five of which came in the second.

The Lions will defend their five-game home unbeaten streak this season at the Field House on Saturday, when they face Midwestern State in a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. The Lions men follow in the second game of the double header, which is slated for 4:00 p.m.

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