A&M-Commerce raced out to a 17-4 advantage against Rockhurst to start the game to lead the Lions to a 77-50 win on Thursday afternoon at the Capitol Plaza Hotel/580 WIBW Radio Holiday Classic.

The Lions raise their record to 3-0 for only the fifth time in school history and second-consecutive year. Junior Britney Jordan and senior Katedria Mosley paced four Lions in double figures with 17 points each. Seniors Melissa Bratton and Dominee Evans added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Genevieve Campbell scored six points and had a team-high five steals in the win. Junior Nola Taylor came off the bench to score six points and grab a team-high seven rebounds.

Rockhurst got a team-high Tori Hartin 11 points from and Julie Cook added 10 in the loss. Cook also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss as the Hawks fall to 0-2 on the season.

A stifling defense for A&M-Commerce forced 33 Rockhurst turnovers that the Lions capitalized on with 36 points in the win. The defense also held the Hawks to 36% shooting from the field, including a dismal 13% effort from the three-point line.

In the first with an eight-point lead, 31-23, the Lions clamped down on defense as they held Rockhurst without a field goal for the next five minutes to extend the margin into double digits and take a 42-25 advantage. The Lions continued its strong play in the first half as they forced 15 Rockhurst turnovers. For the season, A&M-Commerce opponents are shooting 29.3% from the field and have committed 39 turnovers in the first half. Jordan scored 13 and Mosley, who was a perfect five-for-five from the field, added 11 points in the first 20 minutes as the Lions held a 44-29 lead at the halftime break. A&M-Commerce started the second half with a 10-2 spurt to stretch the Lions lead to 54-31.

Next for the Lions is a rematch of its NCAA South Central Regional final against host Washburn at 3 p.m. from Lee Arena. The game will be broadcast live on KETR (88.9 FM) and www.ketr.org.