Kingsville – One night after freshman guard Kayla Naylor hit key outside shots to spur the Javelinas to a victory, fellow freshman Dyana Bullinger filled that role as the Javelinas beat Incarnate Word 79-72 in overtime in the final game of the Emerald Beach Holiday Inn Turkey Day Shootout at Kleberg Bank Court. The win evened the Javelinas record at 2-2 while Incarnate Word fell to 1-5.
Naylor led the Javelinas with 17 points, Lana Toki had 15 points, Angela Trotter added 13, Bullinger and Jasmine June each pitched-in with 12.
Toki was named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament while Naylor earned All-Tournament honors.
Cardinal guard Ieasha Sledge was also named to the All-Tournament team and led IWU with 20 points off the bench.
“In most programs, freshmen don’t play. Our freshmen are being forced into the fire and they are learning every game and getting better,” said Javelina head coach Dina Kangas. “The turnovers really hurt us. You can’t give a team that many opportunities. We were just throwing the ball all over the place. Lana Toki was great and Dyana had a great game.”
After shooting 62 percent from the floor in building a 16-point lead in the first half, the Javelinas lost that lead by making just 44 percent in the second half.
But their shooting touch returned in overtime as the Javelinas made 3 of 4 shots in the extra period and scored 9 of the first 11 points.
“That was huge,” said Kangas of the Javelinas quick start to the overtime. “We were terrible in the first five minutes of the second half, so it was great. We have to weather storms and keep our resolve.”
Bullinger hit a 3-point shot to start the scoring in overtime, giving the Javelinas a 65-62 lead.
A Toki free throw increased the lead to 66-62 with 2:45 left in overtime.
Incarnate Word cut the lead to 66-64, but Bullinger responded again, nailing a 3-point shot with just over two minutes left to give the Javelinas a 69-64 lead.
Trotter then hit a layup with five seconds left on the shot clock and 1:17 left in overtime to increase the lead to 71-64.
Naylor then hit four consecutive free throws to ice the game.
After trailing by 16 points late in the first half, the Cardinals put together a 10-0 run that stretched from the final two minutes of the first half to the first minute of the second half to cut the Javelina lead to six, 35-29.
The Cardinal rally continued as a 3-point basket by Kim Robinson tied the game at 39 with 14 minutes left. Hayley Harvey then hit a layup after a steal to give Incarnate Word their first lead of the game, 41-39.
As hot as the Javelinas were in the first half, they were just as cold to start the second half, hitting just 1 of their first 7 shots.
Incarnate Word build their lead to six, 48-42, with 9 ½ minutes left in the game.
The Cardinals maintained that lead 58-52 with just over three minutes left when Jasmine June completed a four point-play, hitting a 3-point field goal and a free throw, to cut the lead to 58-56.
Toki then scored on a layup and hit the free throw to regain the lead for Texas A&M-Kingsville 60-58 with 1:29 left.
After the Cardinals tied the game at 60, Toki hit a bank shot in the lane with 50 seconds left.
Two made free throws by IWU with 36 seconds left tied the game again.
The Javelinas missed a shot with 16 seconds left and the Cardinals then missed two open shots in the final five seconds and the game went to overtime.
Texas A&M-Kingsville shot a season-best 62 percent in the first half on the way to building a 35-26 halftime lead.
Unlike Friday, the Javelinas got off to a hot start, jumping out to an 8-3 lead in the first seven minutes.
The Javelina defense was tough as the Cardinals hit just one of their first seven shots and turned the ball over four times.
Freshmen guards Dyana Bullinger and Kayla Naylor hit back to back 3-point shots to give the Javelinas a 14-5 lead with just over 11 minutes left in the first half.
Texas A&M-Kingsville hit five of their first 10 shots, including 3-of-4 3-point shots in building the lead.
Ali Scott’s steal and layup gave the Javelinas their biggest lead of the first half, 23-11 with six and a half minutes in the half.
Incarnate Word cut the lead to 23-17, but Naylor knocked down consecutive 3-point baskets, freshman Felicia Soza hit a jumper and Scott had another steal and layup to increase the lead to 16, 33-17, with three minutes left.
Incarnate Word scored the last seven points of the half to cut the lead to 35-26.
