Kingsville – Former Calallen High School star Kayla Naylor hit two key 3-point shots in the final two and a half minutes as Texas A&M-Kingsville rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to beat St. Mary’s 69-67 in the Emerald Beach Holiday Inn Turkey Day Shootout at Kleberg Bank Court.

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   The win improved the Javelinas to 1-2 while the loss dropped the Rattlers to 1-4.

   Junior post player Lana Toki led the Javelinas with 21 points and seven rebounds while Naylor, who made 4-of-5 3-point field goal attempts, had a career-high 11 points.

   Natalie Gamez scored a game-high 30 points to lead St. Mary’s.

   “That’s the best game Kayla has played.  She did a great job,” said Javelina head coach Dina Kangas.  “We had some defensive lapses in the second half, but when we needed to make a stop, we did.  This win give us some confidence.”

   Despite missing their first seven shots from the floor to start the second half, the Javelinas put together a furious 16-6 rally and tied the game at 52 on a 3-point field goal by Jasmine June.

   After St. Mary’s went up three, Toki made a layup and the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 57 with under three minutes remaining.

   That’s when Naylor took over.

   She made a 3-point shot with 2:14 left to play to give the Javelinas their first lead of the second half, 60-59.

   St. Mary’s then missed two shots on its next possession and Naylor nailed another 3-point shot to give Texas A&M-Kingsville a 63-59 lead with 1:20 remaining.

   Fellow freshman Dyana Bullinger then came up with the defensive play of the game, blocking Gamez’s shot as she was driving to the basket with 50 second left.

   The Javelinas then made six of their final eight free throw attempts in the last 45 seconds to secure the victory.

   Both teams played effectively on the offensive end of the floor in the first half with St. Mary’s holding a 36-31 halftime advantage.

   St. Mary’s shot 56 percent from the floor while the Javelinas shot a season-best 46 percent in the first 20 minutes.

   Texas A&M-Kingsville fell behind early, 8-2, just two minutes into the game.

   But the Javelinas put together a 5-0 run, capped by a layup by Toki, to grab their only lead of the first half, 26-24 with just over five minutes left.

   But Toki picked up her second foul of the half 30 seconds later and had to come out of the game.

   The Rattlers took advantage by going on a 12-5 scoring run to end the half.

   Toki had nine points and four rebounds in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting while Gamez had 16 for the Rattlers.

   The Javelinas host Incarnate Word Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in day two of the Emerald Beach Holiday Inn Turkey Day Shootout.