Lions head to Abilene to face former rival

The women's basketball team of Texas A&M University-Commerce will try to get their first win in 2013'-14 in a matchup against the team that they last beat in Abilene Christian. The win was in last season's Lone Star Conference Tournament Quaterfinal in Allen with the Lions winning, 80-79. The Lions have a two week break after this game for the end of the fall semester and pick back up on Dec. 17 versus Henderson State at The Field House. 
 
Lions on the Web
Fans unable to make it to Abilene can follow stats online at acusports.com. The game will also be aired live on radio with Charlie Chitwood on the call on 88.9 KETR and online at KETR.org. Twitter users can also get in-game updates by following @Lion_Athletics and @Lion_WBB. 
 
Series Score
Maybe the Wildcats leaving the LSC was a good thing for the Lions as they have not played well versus Abilene Christian. The Lions are 11-54 all-time and have not won in Abilene since the 1994-95 season. Last season's win broke a six game losing streak to the Wildcats. 
 
Scouting the WILDCATS: 
2013-14: 5-2
Last 3 Games: W, 79-72 at UT-Arlington; L, 70-57 vs. Grand Canyon; L, 64-50 at North Texas
Head Coach: Julie Goodenough - Second Season - Record at ACU: 26-9 - Career Record: 315-229
Key Players
• #30 Renata Marquez: 14.4 ppg / 8.3 rpg / 2.5 spg / 44 FG% 
• #12 Whitney West: 14.1 ppg / 2.3 rpg / 2.7 apg / 41 FG% 
• #33 Sydney Shelstead: 10.9 ppg / 6.4 rpg / 1.7 spg / 54 FG% 
 
The Wildcats got their first win over a Division I team this season with a win over UT-Arlington on November 27. ACU started the year off with four straight wins over Texas Lutheran (Division III), Wayland Baptist (Division II), Angelo State (Division II) and Northwood (NAIA). ACU is led by Renata Marquez, one of just three returners, with her 14.4 points per game average. The Wildcat roster features 10 true freshman in their first season at the Division I level in 20 years. On the glass the Wildcats are a +2.0 and +5.7 in turnovers compared to their competition so far this season.  
 
Still looking for first W
The Lions started last season off 3-0 so this season's 0-5 start is a surprise, especially with how last season ended--beating ACU in the quaters of the LSC Tourney. This is the second-longest losing streak to start a season under Anderson, with the Lions starting the 2010-11 season with a 0-7 mark before getting the first win. 
 
Harris does not miss a beat
Harris is on beat to continue averaging a double-double after averaging a double-double last season. So far Harris is posting 19.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per game for the Lions. 
 
Dixon ties a career high
Last time out versus A&M-International the senior from Arlington tied a career high with 26 points on 12-22 from the field. 
 
Dixon and Harris among greats
Seniors Danielle Dixon and Breanna Harris have chances to become the ninth and 10th players in program history to score over 1,000 points in a Lion uniform. Dixon needs just 83 points to clip the milestone and Harris needs 173 to reach 1,000. 
 
Six-game slide
The Lions current six-game skid is the longest since losing 21 in a row during the 2011-12 season. 
 
Nice to have you back
In her first game in two years, Abigail Leaupepe-Tele had her first career double-double with a career high 20 points and 11 rebounds. 12 and eight was Leaupepe-Tele's career highs prior to the game versus St. Edward's. Leaupepe-Tele is averaging eight points and five rebounds so far.  
 
First time in double-digits 
Freshman Alize Pegue was second on the team in scoring with 10 points in the Lions' loss to Sam Houston State last week. The freshman is averaging two points and two assists so far this season. 
 
Start of something? 
Sophomore Zenobia Winbush is coming off her best game as a Lion with five points, two rebounds and an assist. this could be the spark the transfer from A&M-Corpus Christi needed. 
 
First time out in 2013-14 
After missing the first four games, La'Tisha Hearne made a mark against Sam Houston State. The junior recorded nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 29 minutes. 
 
Free Throw struggles 
The Lions stuggled from the free throw line last season and that has carried over to the first five games of this season. The Lions are shooting 52.7% from the charity stripe and have made only 11.8 free throws a game. 
 
Defense not there 
So far in 2013 the Lions have been outscoed by 14.8 ppg and have given up 83.4 points per contest so far. A season ago the Lions defense kept them in games, only surrendering 67.6 points per game. 
 
Hitting the glass
The Lions are hitting the glass harder so far this season averaging 47.8 per game compared to 43.7 a season ago. However, the Lions are -0.8 compared to the opposition unlike the +5.1 they posted in 2012-13. 
 
Head Coach Nicole Anderson 
Anderson enters her fifth season at the helm of the A&M-Commerce Lions women's basketball program. Expectations have been raised for Anderson and the Lions after last season's nine win improvement from 2011-12. The turn around also earned Anderon Co-Coach of the Year for the Lone Star Conference a season ago.