Aggies give No. 3 Lions a scare
For Immediate Release
February 15, 2020
Cameron University Athletics
Kenton Means – Sports Information Director
LAWTON, Okla. – The Aggie women’s basketball team’s upset bid of the No. 3 ranked A&M-Commerce Lions despite senior Amaka Nwakamma’s game-high 24 points.
After a dominating win on Thursday against UT Tyler, the Aggies entered Saturday looking to pull off an upset. The Black and Gold welcomed in A&M-Commerce to the Aggie Gym on Saturday. The Lions came into the matchup with a spotless 23-0 record, including 17 wins within the Lone Star Conference.
Ranked third nationally, the Lions would pose a benchmark test for the surging Cameron Aggies. CU entered this matchup as winners of 6 of their last 7 games.
Trying to snap a four-game losing streak to the Lions, the Aggies would hang tough in the first half. The first quarter ended in a 16-16 tie, seeing the Black and Gold hold the Lions to just 22 percent shooting from the floor. Comparatively, the Aggies shot 41 percent from the floor, including 12 points in the paint.
After playing a competitive second quarter, the Lions began to build separation in the final two minutes of the half. A&M-Commerce was able to outrebound the Aggies and force the Black and Gold into 11 turnovers in the first twenty minutes of action.
While Ava Battese logged 11 points in the half, she entered the break shooting just 3-for-11 from beyond the arc. As a team, CU was only able to knock down the 3 ball at a 17 percent clip.
A&M-Commerce got off to a fast start in the second half, going on an 8-3 scoring run to start the final 20 minutes.
The Aggies were only outscored by a point the rest of the third quarter, but it still allowed Commerce to hold a 14-point lead at the end of the third frame.
Cameron hit a pair of triples to open the fourth period, but the Lions always had answers.
That is when Nwakamma took over the contest, posting 14 points with a personal 8-0 scoring run to bring the Aggies within two possessions. “She is a special player. She is just one of those clutch time kids. That is the kind of impact she has on a game.” Aggies head coach Emma Andrews raved postgame. Nwakamma ended the contest with a game-high 24 points, to go along with her three assists and 12 rebounds.
Two possessions would be as close as the game got in the second half, but the Aggies still managed to give the Lions a scare in the 83-78 loss.
Despite the Aggies just making seven three’s (22 percent from deep), as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the conference, they still nearly upset the best team in the Lone Star Conference. This performance won’t stop the Aggies from taking shots from beyond the arc. “Our girls feel like if we could have just hit another three they would’ve won this game. They are going to make a run.” Head Coach Emma Andrews said.
A&M-C was able to score 33 points at the free-throw line, out-rebound the Aggies 57-38, and generated 17 turnovers in the contest. Andrews made it known that A&M-Commerce “Is a good team, but so are we. We can make a run in this tournament. We competed with the best team in the conference and could’ve beat them. I am proud of the way our girls fought.”
The Black and Gold remain one of the hottest teams in the Lone Star Conference and will look to rebound next week with their final two home games of the season. The week will start on Thursday, Feb. 20, with Oklahoma Christian. On Saturday, Feb. 22, the regular season home slate concludes with a senior night and homecoming matchup with UAFS.