Bonnarens drops 32 points in CU win at A&M-Commerce

CU Sports
Kenton Means, Sports Information Director

COMMERCE, Texas – Jamie Bonnarens matched her career high with 32 points as the Aggie women’s basketball team shot lights out to defeat Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday, 94-87.

Bonnarens went 12-23 from the field and hit 4-6 from three point range, while also nearing a triple-double with 12 rebounds and seven assists. Her 32 points matched her career high that she recorded last year against UT Permian Basin on Feb. 11.

As a team, Cameron shot a season best 53 percent from the field and 54 percent from beyond the three point arc; 42 of CU’s 94 points game from three pointers.

The Aggies opened the game on an 11-4 run in the first five minutes of play. A couple minutes after that, Bonnarens hit a jumper to put CU up by eight with 3:30 left in the first quarter. TAMUC responded and cut the CU lead down to four at the end of the period. In the second, Cameron came back out firing, extending their lead back out, this time by 12 with just under five minutes to play in the half. Just like in the first, the Lions responded and used a 9-2 run to tie the game at 38 points at the break.

Bonnarens had 17 of CU’s 38 points at the half, going 7-11 from the field and 3-3 from the perimeter, while Lejha Smith chipped in 10 points.

The two teams traded buckets to start the second half, and Texas A&M-Commerce took their first lead of the game at the 7:18 mark. However, a few minutes later, Andrea Martinez hit a three pointer to put the Ags back up on top. Cameron then used a 14-4 run to go back up by 10 and finished off the quarter, leading 63-56. They continued that momentum into the fourth, and at the 7:24 mark Parfitt McNair hit a three to extend CU’s lead to 13. The Lions chipped away at that lead a little, but a 9-0 run from CU held the comeback at bay. The Black and Gold finished the half shooting 9-14 from the perimeter to help them secure the 94-87 win.

Joining Bonnarens in double-figures were McNair with 19, Smith and Martinez with 14 each, and Ava Battese with 13; Smith also had a double-double with 11 rebounds.

Princess Davis had a career game with 31 points of her own for the Lions, while Brianna Wise came off the bench and scored 25 points. TAMUC shot just under 40 percent from the field and 35 percent from three.

The win puts CU back at .500 in Lone Star Conference play as they are now 8-12 overall and 6-6 in league play. Texas A&M-Commerce is now 14-6 on the season with a 10-2 conference mark.

Cameron will return home for their next four games. The final four game home stretch begins with a rematch against Angelo State on Thursday, Feb. 1 starting at 5:30 p.m.

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