SAN ANGELO – The Angelo State women's basketball closes out their regular season this weekend with a pair of tough opponents from East Texas making the trip west to the Junell Center, with #4 Texas A&M-Commerce set for Thursday (5:30 p.m. tip-off) and UT-Tyler to close the season on Saturday (2 p.m. tip-off).

Entering the final weekend of games, the Rambelles, after starting the season 0-8, are right in the thick of fighting for the Lone Star Conference Championship.

At 11-3 overall in conference play, the Rambelles sit in third place, one game back of Commerce for the top spot in the standings, with Commerce set to play a makeup game Tuesday night against current four-seed Texas Woman's.

The Rambelles' offense is fourth in the conference with 68.2 points per game, shooting 40.1 percent from the field.

Four Rambelles score more than 10 points per game, led by Blakely Gerber's 12.2 points per contest. After only scoring a combined 13 points in her first four games for Angelo State, the Nazareth native has reached double figures in 16 of the past 21 games, including four games with 20 or more points.

Sawyer Lloyd and Payton Brown follow closely behind with 11.3 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Brown is second in the conference with 4.3 assists per game and is third with 34.9 minutes played per game. Lloyd is sixth in the LSC with 2.3 steals per contest and is fifth in assist/turnover ratio.

Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant is averaging 10.6 points per game and 6.6 rebounds; she is in the top 20 in the conference in both rebounding and steals. Madeline Stephens is coming off a weekend in which she scored a season-high 21 points against UAFS last Thursday. The Lubbock native is eighth in the conference with 7.7 rebounds per contest.

Pregame Saturday will also see the Rambelles honor their lone senior in Ashlynn Sharp. Sharp, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, came to West Texas from Cal State – San Bernardino, where she averaged 11.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. This season, Sharp has been the Rambelles' most effective threat from long range, shooting a team-best 38.4 percent from three, responsible for nearly a quarter of all the Rambelles' makes from deep this season.

Sharp has turned in four games with ten or more points off the bench, including a season-high 16 points last week against St. Mary's, where she shot 4-of-6 from three-point range.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Texas A&M-Commerce, the nation's fourth-ranked team, enters the weekend with a 22-2 record and a 10-2 record in conference play; they currently sit atop the conference standings with three games left on their calendar.

The Lions boast the league's best offense, averaging 80.8 points per game. Dyani Robinson is fourth in the LSC with 15.8 points per game.

The Rambelles are 14-9 against the Lions dating back to 2006; the Lions have won the last three meetings by an average margin of 10 points per game.
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler is 16-6 overall on the season and 9-3 in conference play; they are currently fifth in the standings and, like Commerce, have a makeup game on Tuesday against Cameron, who are currently eighth in the standings.

The Patriots are efficient from the field, shooting a league-best 45.8 percent as a team this season. Their defense is equally impressive, holding opponents to 34.1 percent shooting, the top mark in the league.

Liah Davis shoots 54.1 percent from the field, averaging 14.5 points per game while Lovisa Hevinder shoots an LSC-best 44.6 percent from the three.

These two teams have only ever met once, with the Rambelles pulling out a 69-66 victory back on Janaury 30^th, 2020.