Silver City, NM– The Western New Mexico University Mustangs fought tough in a match up against the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions, Thursday evening on Drag's Court. The Lions would take a victory back home to Texas to wrap up their away travels. 
 
The Mustangs came out wanting to take advantage of every shot they could take taking a total of 30 attempts within the first half. The team's offense had a difficult time getting offensive rebounds to give the team even more opportunities to make a play. However, Mustang defensive played very aggressive as the team had a total of 6 steals in the first half. Junior Zyan Smith (Queen Creek, AZ/Mesquite High School ) would go on to lead the Mustangs in steals raking up three for the night. The Mustangs trailed by 10 by halftime, TAMUC 31 WNMU 21. 

TAMUC did not let down from applying pressure on defense to force turnovers for the Mustangs. Sophomore Alina Simon (Killeen, TX/Ellison High School) showed a great sense of offensive confidence coming into the second half of the game and in began quarter four by draining a three from downtown. Both sophomore Olivia Lee (Peoria, AZ/Cactus HS) and senior veteran Destiney Johnson (El Paso, TX/Parkland HS) played with hustle and grit to get as many defensive rebounds as WNMU could helping the team earn 22 defensive rebounds. Both girls each earned 10 points this evening playing a strong offensive game, but it was unfortunately not enough to secure a win. The Lions would pack up home with a 67-55 win over the Mustangs. Lee was a key player in the Mustang offensive totaling up 5 monster blocks against the Lions offense. 

Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the Lions bench points and offensive rebounds would be what would cost the team the game. The Lions scored 32 points off of the bench players making up for nearly half of the team's overall points. WNMU would be out beat by TAMUC 29 to 9 in offensive rebounds. 

Mustangs to Highlight:
 Alina Simon (Killeen, TX/Ellison High School) (11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block)
Olivia Lee (Peoria, AZ/Cactus HS) (10 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 1 steal)
Destiney Johnson (El Paso, TX/Parkland HS) (10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
Zyan Smith (Queen Creek, AZ/Mesquite High School ) (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals)

WNMU will be back home for a match up against University of Texas at Tyler on Saturday, January 22nd with tip-off at 2:00 pm MT.