BOX SCORE
COMMERCE – Shelby Adamson scored a season-high 16 points and dished out six assists on her way to guiding the Tarleton TexAnns to an 84-60 win over Texas A&M-Commerce at TAMUC Field House on Saturday.
Adamson, who played high school basketball at nearby Rockwall, went 7-for-12 from the field and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
“It felt like I had my home crowd here today,” Adamson said. “It was really nice to play and get the win here.”
Brittnie Haley tallied 16 points as well for the TexAnns and the offense finished shooting just under 50 percent (.485) from the field for the game.
The TexAnns took just an eight-point lead into the locker room after the first-half of play, leading 35-27 over the Lions. Tarleton shot 40 percent from the field during the first period and was led by Adamson and Haley who each recorded 10 points each. Tara Towns came off the bench and tallied six points for the TexAnns as well.
TAMUC scored 10 points off of eight Tarleton turnovers, but the TexAnns overcame those points as they scored 11 second-chance points to TAMUC's three. Nikki Garner led the Lions at the break with nine points.
The TexAnns increased the lead to 10 points at the beginning of the second-half on Tori Skarke's jumper, but TAMUC scored the next six points and Tarleton's lead dwindled down to 37-33 with 17:09 left to play. The TexAnns then countered with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes and increased their lead to 46-33 with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game.
The TexAnns put the game out of reach at the 8:42 mark when Skarke connected on a three-pointer from the right wing to make it a 59-43 game. JoAnne Jones followed with an uncontested lay-up and Tarleton's lead increased to 18 points, up 61-43.
Tarleton took a 21-point lead with 4:32 left in the game on a Lisa Parker three-pointer. TAMUC countered with a lay-up from Garner, but Adamson came right back with a lay-up of her own to make it a 75-54 game with less than four minutes to play.
Both teams traded baskets over the course of the final four minutes, but it was Tarleton who came away with the 84-60 win after outscoring the home team 49-33 in the second-half.
The TexAnns scored 54 points in the paint on Saturday – the third highest total by a TexAnn team this season. Tarleton again showed its depth at all positions, outscoring the Lions 35-2 in points off the bench.
Morgan Stehling finished the game with 10 points, giving the TexAnns another double-digit performer. Parker and Towns each finished the game with six points as well for the TexAnns.
It was Tarleton's fourth straight win as the TexAnns improved to 12-1. The win also snapped a six-game losing streak to the Lions that dated back to 2006.
The Lions fell to 3-9 on the season, but were led by Garner who finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field. Genevieve Campbell, a teammate of Adamson's at Rockwall, scored 14 points and went 2-for-2 from beyond the three-point line.
TAMUC finished the game shooting .379 percent from the field and out-rebounded the TexAnns 21-15.
Tarleton will not have much time to rest before the next game. The TexAnns will leave for Odessa on Sunday afternoon as they travel west for a contest with Texas-Permian Basin on Monday. Monday's game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Falcon Dome on the UTPB campus.
