COMMERCE, Texas (Feb. 4) – The Pioneers had three players set new career high point totals but it wasn't enough as they fell to the host Texas A&M-Commerce, 88-78.  With the loss TWU is now 17-6 overall and 7-4 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Junior Deja Pointer led four players in double figures with a career-high 19 points.  She erased her previous high of 18 points set last season on the same floor in Commerce, TX.  Sophomore Alexis Nezianya also scored a career-high 15 points while freshman Bri'anna Gray came off the bench and added a new career-best 10 points.  Junior Emily Spector added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench while junior Erin Maxwell finished with nine points.
 
The Pioneers, riddled by injuries, played without sophomore starter Morgan Easley while junior Kenesha Saygo was limited to just six minutes.
 
TWU scored the game's first five points but the Lions used an 8-0 run to take a 13-9 lead halfway through the quarter.  A&M-Commerce pushed the lead to five points, 19-14, before the Pioneers responded with six straight points to go on top 20-19.  The Lions made a layup in the final minute to regain the lead, 21-20, at the end of the quarter.
 
In the second quarter TAMUC again pushed the lead to five, 30-25, and the Pioneers again responded with a 12-6 run to take a 37-36 lead. TWU led 41-40 with 1:33 left on the clock before the Lions scored the final seven points of the quarter including a three pointer at the buzzer to take a 47-41 halftime lead.
 
A&M-Commerce extended its lead to 12 points early in the third quarter but the Pioneers scored eight straight points to cut the deficit to five, 55-50.  TWU got within three points at 4:46 mark before the Lions extended the lead back to nine points, 67-58, after three.
 
TAMUC took the game's biggest lead early in the fourth quarter, 73-60, and maintained at least an eight-point lead the rest of the way.
 
The Pioneers will return to action when they host Eastern New Mexico on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7:00 p.m. in Kitty Magee Arena. Tuesday's game will be the Pioneers' Pack the House V event. Free admission, free t-shirts, and prize drawings for housing scholarship and bookstore credit are all on tap.