Box Score STEPHENVILLE – A 16-1 run late in the second half pushed No. 19 Tarleton (15-3, 6-2) past Texas A&M-Commerce in a 74-64 TexAnn victory to wrap up the first half of Lone Star Conference action Saturday night.
 
Shanae Lowrance got the scoring started with the first two buckets of the game to put Tarleton up 4-0 early and the start of an 11-3 Tarleton run over the first 4:02.
 
Tarleton held on to a healthy lead through the 10:36 mark as the TexAnns controlled the scoreboard 22-15 but a 3-pointer by Commerce started a 7-0 Lion push to bring the game to its first tie since the opening tip off. The Lions continued their run with a 3-ball to take a lead at 25-22.
 
The TexAnns trailed by as many as five over the rest of the half, but Keyra Johnson drilled a 15-foot jumper with one second left on the clock to make it 33-32 Commerce lead at the break.
 
Kiara Wright poured in 10 points and five rebounds in the opening half despite playing just eight minutes due to foul trouble. Her fellow seniors, Lowrance and Brianna Bledsoe, were close behind with eight points each.
 
As a team, the TexAnns shot 42 percent from the floor in the opening half but were 0-6 from beyond the arc and 2-4 at the free throw line compared to A&M-Commerce's 7-10 free throw shooting.
 
Out of the break, the teams battled over the first two minutes with Commerce holding on to a slim 37-35 lead, but back-to-back buckets from Wright and Kathy Thomas gave Tarleton its first lead of the half at 39-37 with 16:38 left.
 
The teams continued to battle back and forth with Commerce taking its biggest lead of the half at 46-41 with 14:10 left but a 3-ball by Thomas started an 8-0 Tarleton run to give the TexAnns a 49-46 lead. The lead wouldn't hold up, however, as Commerce took a 53-51 lead once again.
 
Trailing by two with 9:31 left, Lowrance converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to put Tarleton on top for good and start a 16-1 TexAnn run to give Tarleton its biggest lead of the game at 67-54.
 
The Lions cut it as close as five but the TexAnns hit their final five free throws in the final 44 seconds to secure the victory.
 
The starting five for Tarleton, which included Raven McGrath in her first career start, scored 68 of the TexAnns' 74 points. Bledsoe led the TexAnns with 18 points for the night on 7-17 shooting while Wright and Lowrance had 15 each. Thomas also cracked double figures with 13.
 
McGrath poured in seven in her first start while Karli Moore (4) and Johnson (2) were the only other TexAnns to score on the night.
 
Tarleton shot 46 percent from the floor, 29 percent from downtown and 62 percent at the free throw line. The TexAnns were outrebounded 47-35 but won the points in the paint 38-28.
 
The TexAnns have a quick turnaround for their next game as they are expected to travel to Denton tomorrow for a 2 p.m. tip off against Texas Woman's in Kitty Magee Arena.