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SPORTS
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009
Page 7
BRENDA TURNER / THE EAST TEXAN
The Lions’ Cardell Hunter dribbles toward the net against Trinty in A&M-Commerce’s opening tournament.
Men open season with pair of wins CALEB SLINKARD CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball won their first two games of the season on Nov. 15 and 16 against St. Edward’s University and Trinity University. The wins gave A&M-Commerce their first 2-0 record since the 2004-2005 season. “It feels good to be undefeated because we’ve had such great teams that have had slow starts in the past few years,” said head coach Tom Walker. “Learning while you’re winning is easier than learning while you’re losing.” In the first game, the Lions beat St. Edward’s 73-60 on senior forward Ronnie Morgan’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Justin Wilkerson had eight points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Brian Singleton chipped in 10 points and led the team with seven assists. Morgan led A&MCommerce in scoring again with 17 points against
Trinity as the Lions held off a second-half charge by the Tigers to win 67-58. Singleton added 14 points and sophomore guard Brad Hambrick had 11 in the victory. “I would say that Ronnie Morgan, Brad Hambrick, Cardell Hunter and Sammy Jackson are just about everything we expected returning starters to be, and Brian Singleton has been a pleasant surprise,” Walker said. The first two games have proved that the Lions can get by just fine without having a single star player to carry the team. “When you have a group of guys that can all score double-digits and play good defense I think that’s better than having one star,” Hambrick said. This year’s team is built around the concept that winning is a team effort. “We don’t have set plays, we run motions,” senior forward Sammy Jackson said. “So whoever gets it at the right time, it’s their turn to score. The Lions travel down to San Antonio for their
next tournament, where they will face St. Mary’s and Langston University on Nov. 27 and 28. The tournament will be the their first games since their win against Trinity on Nov. 16. “The 11 day break is not healthy,” Walker said. “With all that practice time, you’d think you could get a lot better, but you can get into a rut. We’re trying to avoid that by having good, competitive practices every day.” Walker isn’t upset about the amount of away games at the beginning of the schedule, however. “It helps,” he said. “The amount of time you spend off of the court collectively confined in social settings benefits the team.” Jackson agreed with his coach about the amount of early home games, but for other reasons. “It really helps us out, because, at the end of the season, most of our games are away, so we’ll be used to playing away,” he said. The Lions play their first home game on Dec. 8 against Henderson State University.
Nicole Anderson was still looking for her first win as coach after the Lions’ first tournament of the season.
Lions drop opening games ADAM TROXTELL SPORTS EDITOR The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team dropped its first two games of the season over the weekend in the 2009 Drury/Lady Panther Sleep Inn Classic in Springfield, Mo. It began Friday night when they lost to hosts Drury University 98-60. Drury (2-0) dominated the game from the start, as they immediately went on a 10-2 run and were up 57-33 at halftime. Despite the slow start, A&MCommerce senior Nakazi Glover was able to put up 15 points to lead the Lions. Juniors Mattilyn McIntryre and Genevieve Campbell also scored double-digit points in
the game, with 14 and 10 respectively. Four of Drury’s players had point totals in doublefigures, and senior Lindsay Ballweg, who tallied a game high 23, led them all. Caitlin Shouse scored 16 points, and Ja’Nell Jones had eight assists on her way to scoring 10 points. As a whole, Drury shot 64.3 percent from the field and completely dominated in rebounding with 42, compared to A&MCommerce’s 24. The Lions then had to match up against Michigan Tech, who was ranked No. 1 in the Preseason USA Today/ESPN Div. II Coaches Poll the following Saturday. Despite sophomore Tiffany Mitchell’s 15 points and 12 rebounds for her first career doubledouble, A&M-Commerce
fell 71-51. With just under 10 minutes to go in the first half, Michigan Tech (3-0) went on a 14-4 run that ultimately decided the game. Seniors Danae Danen and Katie Wysocky, who each scored 22 points in the win, led the Huskies. McIntyre had 14 points and four rebounds for the Lions, while Campbell managed nine points and four rebounds. This is the first time the Lions have started out 0-2 since the 2003-04 season. The first two games of that season were against Div. I opponents Centenary and UT-Arlington. A&M-Commerce plays away to fellow LSC opponents Texas A&MKingsville in their next game on Friday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m.
Meagan Lasley dibbles down the field during a home game this season against Dallas Baptist University.
Lasley’s goals important on and off field SUSAN SHORKEY STAFF WRITER For the past four years, Senior Meagan Lasley has had a tremendous impact at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce. From star soccer player to a wellbalanced student, Meagan continues to succeed in everything she does here at A&M-Commerce. Lasley has been playing soccer for 14 years. As soon as she was introduced to soccer from her brother, she has been playing non-stop. “My brother played when we were both really young, and I wanted to try it out. I loved it ever since then,” she said. The Mesquite, Texas, native was named District Offensive MVP and All-District honors as a senior during her time at Mesquite High School. She also earned first team all-district recognition as a freshman and junior, and a second-team all-district
honoree as a sophomore. After Lasley graduated from Mesquite High in 2006, she continued her soccer career on a full 4 year scholarship for A&MCommerce. In those four years, Lasley played in 71 games, had 28 assists, and made 47 goals, 11 of which were game winners. Lasley was named Lone Star Conference player of the year, was second team all-region, and second team all-conference for her sophomore year. One of the games she is most proud of was when the Lions played against Tampa University, and won 3-1. “We went in as the under dogs, and then came out with a win,” she said. Meagan impressed most during her junior year. She was named third team all-American honors by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, second team allregion by Daktronics, first
team all-conference, and was ranked one of the top 30 players in the nation in points per game as well as offensive player of the week. This year, she has been named first team allregion, first team all-conference, earned offensive player of the week as well as offensive player of the year. Lasley said she has both good and bad memories from soccer games through her four years playing for A&MCommerce. This includes losing in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament to Truman during her junior year. “I thought we were going to go all the way that year, so it was a big disappointment when we lost,” Lasley said. For the future, Meagan is interested in pursuing a career in sports industry, and would love to work for a sport organization and deal in marketing or public relations.