Kingsville – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women's basketball team battled back from a 13-point first half deficit to earn a hard-fought 81-78 win over Texas A&M University-Kingsville in the Steinke Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
A&M-Commerce is now 16-8 overall and 12-4 in the Lone Star Conference, while A&M-Kingsville falls to 6-18 overall and 3-13 in the league.
 
The Lions complete their five-game Lone Star Conference road trip at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Tarleton State.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

- Princess Davis led the Lions with 25 points, also passing out five assists with two steals.

- Brianna Wise scored 23 points with four rebounds and two steals.

- Jenna Price recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Courtney Fields also passed out five assists.

- The Lions shot 43.8 percent from the floor (28-of-64) in the contest and made 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) of their three-point attempts.

- A&M-Kingsville shot 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from three-point range.

- The Lions made 17-of-23 free throws (73.9 percent), with all of those coming in the second half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions scored the game's opening bucket before a five-point Javelina run. Ransom scored two straight baskets to put the Lions up 6-5 with seven minutes left. After a Kingsville basket, Davis went on a personal six-point run to give the Lions a 12-7 lead. The Javelinas' Brynae Thompson hit consecutive three-pointers to give the hosts a brief lead and the game was tied going into the final minute of the quarter. Davis hit a straightaway three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lions an 18-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
 
A&M-Commerce led 20-17 with 8:38 left in the half when the Javelinas went on a 12-point rally. The Lions were held scoreless for four minutes until Jocelyn Pierce's mid-range jumper at the 4:42 mark. A&M-Kingsville scored the next six points to push its lead to 13 points at 35-22 with three minutes left.
 
Davis canned a triple and Wise made treys on consecutive possessions to narrow the deficit to six points at 37-31 in the final minute, but Kingsville's Shaq Debose hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it a 40-31 lead at the break for the Javelinas. A&M-Kingsville shot 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the floor in the half, while the Lions shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field and did not make it to the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.
 
From the large deficit, the Lions roared back quickly. A Ransom three-point play, a Lauren Parker jumper, and a Davis three-pointer cut the Javelina lead down to one point at 40-39 in just under three minutes. A&M-Kingsville was unable to convert on a two-point field goal in the third quarter and struggled with fouls, allowing the Lions to do damage at the charity stripe.
 
Davis' three-pointer at the 3:36 mark of the period tied the game at 49-all and the Lions took the lead on a pair of Price free throws with three-tenths of a second on the clock, giving A&M-Commerce the 57-55 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 
The fourth quarter started as the third did, as the Lions scored seven straight points to push out to a 64-55 advantage at the 8:54 mark. The full flip of the earlier 13-point deficit came at the 7:51 mark, when a pair of Price free throws gave the Lions a 70-57 lead.
 
The Javelinas chipped away at the lead, with a pair of Thompson three pointers making it a 74-70 Lion lead with 3:24 to go. Price made a layup at the 2:48 mark to give the Lions a six-point advantage, but six straight Javelina free throws sent the game into its final minute tied at 78-78.
 
Wise quickly made a layup and A&M-Kingsville missed two close range attempts on its ensuing possession. A Davis layup attempt was short, giving the Javelinas the ball with 10.5 seconds to play. Sadie Russell's layup attempt was rebounded by the Lions, and a pair of Davis free throws with two tenths of a second remaining sealed the four-point victory.