SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Angelo State Belle basketball team fought hard against the No. 19 Texas A&M-Commerce Lions, but two fouls by Angelo State late in the fourth quarter led the Lions to sweep the Belles in the two game series, 71-66.
 
The Lions defense kept the Belles to a slow start at the beginning as they grew to a 6-0 lead with 7:14 left in the first quarter. Madeline Stephens and Samantha Rocha both made quick back-to-back layups to cut their deficit to two points, 6-4, but Commerce rapidly brought their lead back to six with two layups and a jump shot, 12-6.
 
A three pointer from the Lions brought their lead to nine over the Belles, but a jumper from Jade Mbam cut it down to seven with 4:02 left on the clock, 15-8. Rocha sunk a jumper in the field one more time for the Belles, wiht Commerce managing to make one more shot before the clock ran out to bring their lead to 11 over ASU, 21-10.
 
The Belles came back quickly at the start of the second quarter, with Sadie Misner making a jumper, along with Sawyer Lloyd and Stephens both making layups to bring the Lions lead back to seven, 23-16. With back to back three pointers made by Rocha, plus a free throw from Stephens, ASU cut into the Lions lead to bring them within four points, 27-23, with 4:39 left in the half.
 
Commerce kept the Belles offensive from making progress and scoring for almost three minutes, while growing their lead back to nine over Angelo State in the late minutes of the half, 32-23. Lloyd grabbed a layup and an and one to cut the lead to six, but Commerce managed to score a jump shot and a free throw themselves to end the first half leading by nine, 35-26.
 
The Belles started the second half with a vengeance, with Stephens and Lloyd both scoring layups to bring the Lions lead to three over the Belles, 35-32, but a three pointer and a layup from Commerce brought their lead back to eight points, 40-32, with 6:27 left in the third quarter. Multiple layups and jumpers from Stephens, Rocha, and Misner brought their deficit to just three points, 43-40.
 
A made three pointer from Lana Marov, plus a layup from Stephens brought the third quarter to an end as the Belles trailed by three leading into the fourth quarter, 48-45.
 
The fourth quarter began as Stephens made another layup to bring the Belles within one point of taking the lead from Commerce, 48-47, but the Lions made a free throw to extend their lead to two, 49-47. Rocha, seeing a gap in the Lions defense with 8:04 left in the game, quickly made a layup to tie the game at 49-49.

Commerce retaliated rapidly, making a three pointer and knocking down a free throw to take the lead again at four against the Belles, 53-49. The Lions and Belles continued to trade points back and forth, with multiple Belles knocking down several three pointers including Lloyd, Madisen Honea, and Marov, hitting the tying three pointer to tie the game for the second time, 60-60.
 
Misner made a layup with less than three minutes left in the game to bring Angelo State to their first lead over the Lions, 62-61, but Commerce managed to tie the game up at 64-64 in the last two minutes of the game. Marov made a quick jumper to take a two point lead back over the Lions, but that was the last amount of points scored for the Belles, as the Lions knocked down a three pointer and four free throws to defeat the Belles, 71-66.
 
Key Players:

• Stephens led the Belles offensively and defensively against the Lions, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight boards. Stephens shot 8-15 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line, whilst grabbing two offensive and six defensive rebounds. She also registered five assists, one steal, and one block against the Lions.
• Rocha trailed behind Stephens by one point, scoring 16 for Angelo State. Shooting 7-13 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the three point line, Rocha grabbed six boards herself, two offensive and four defensive rebounds. Rocha registered four blocks, a career high so far, and two steals to end the night.
• Lloyd dropped 12 points for the Belles, shooting 5-12 from the field and 1-1 from the free throw line. Registering six rebounds as well, Lloyd managed to grab one offensive and five defensive boards, grabbing four assists and two steals as well.

 
Up Next:
The Belles hit the road and travel to Denton, Texas to play a makeup game against the Texas Woman's Pioneers on Tuesday, February 2. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.