Kingsville – After pulling out consecutive wins in the final minute over the weekend, the Javelinas couldn’t work their magic for a third time, falling to Northeastern State 58-57 at Kleberg Bank Court. The loss broke the Javelinas two-game winning streak and dropped them to 2-3 while Northeastern State improved to 2-3.
Freshman guard Dyana Bullinger scored a career-high 18 points while Lana Toki had 10. Angela Trotter added nine while Jasmine June and Kayla Naylor each had six.
Jezzal Quintana came off the bench to lead the Lady Reds with 21 points.
Northeastern State out-rebounded the Javelinas 35-27 and shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half.
“We had some breakdowns defensively and in a close game like this, you can’t do that,” said Javelina head coach Dina Kangas. “We are a young team and we made the kind of mistakes tonight that young teams make.”
The second half started off much the same way the first half began, with the Javelina offense struggling.
The Javelinas saw a four-point halftime advantage disappear quickly as the Lady Reds scored the first six points after intermission to grab a 31-29 advantage.
Texas A&M-Kingsville made just 1 of its first 6 shots from the floor.
Unlike the first half, it took the Javelinas a little while longer to find their rhythm.
Bullinger’s 3-point basket with 7:40 left in the game tied the scored at 46 and she hit another a minute later to give the Javelinas a 49-46 advantage.
But the Lady Reds put together a 7-0 run to grab a 55-51 lead with 3:45 left in the game.
Toki hit a runner in the lane to cut the lead to 55-53, but the Javelinas missed a breakaway layup, turned the ball over twice and committed a lane violation with a chance to tie the game at the free throw line.
Lady Red post player Verressa Gaston hit a free throw with 46 seconds left to give Northeastern State a three-point lead, 56-53.
After a timeout, Toki hit a driving layup with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to one, 56-55.
Northeastern State then broke the Javelinas fullcourt press and Lindsey Sams hit a layup with 20 seconds left to put the lead back at three, 58-55.
“We were trying to foul them in the corner, didn’t get it done, and they got a layup out of it,” said Kangas. “That was a big play.”
Toki hit another runner in the lane with eight seconds left to trim the lead to one again, 58-57.
Jezzal Quintana was fouled on the in bounds pass, but missed both free throws, the Javelinas grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 4.8 seconds left.
But the Javelinas had to go the length of the floor and Toki’s 25-footer was off the mark.
The Javelinas struggled mightily out of the gate, missing their first six shots from the floor to start the game.
But Texas A&M-Kingsville quickly found its touch, hitting six of their next seven shots to grab control of the first half.
Naylor broke the ice by hitting a 3-point basket at the 14:30 mark to cut the Northeastern State lead to 5-3.
Rosalyn Robbins came off the bench to hit a turnaround jumper in the lane to tie the game and June nailed a 3-point basket on the next possession to give the Javelinas their first lead of the game at 8-5.
Bullinger dropped in a 3-point basket to make it 11-7 and June added another triple to make it 14-9.
Naylor finished the impressive run by hitting yet another 3-point basket to increase the lead to 17-9.
After the Lady Reds but the lead to 21-18, Trotter hit a jumper in the lane and the ensuing free throw and Bullinger came up with a steal and a layup to build the lead back to 26-18.
Northeastern State put together a run to cut the lead to 29-25 at the half.
Bullinger led the Javelinas in scoring in the first half with eight while Naylor added six.
Texas A&M-Kingsville held Northeastern State to just 38 percent shooting in the first half and forced 10 turnovers.
The Javelinas scored 18 of their 29 first half points from behind the 3-point arch.
