Women's Basketball 11/29/2008 12:00:00 AM

Javelinas Stun #10 Emporia State

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s basketball team trailed by as many as 19 points against #10 Emporia State on Saturday, but they would not be denied and pulled off the 79-70 upset at the Steinke Center. (box score)

One day after scoring 115 points in a victory, the Lady Hornets (5-1) were held to 39.7 percent shooting from the field and forced into 27 turnovers by the Javelina (2-3) defense.

The Javelinas hung around in the first half and trailed 32-23 at halftime, but then the Hornets pushed the lead to 19 points with 15:00 remaining. Those final 15 minutes were the best of the season for the Hoggies.

Over the next 9:51, the Javelinas outscored the Hornets 37-8. The Javs took their first lead of the game when senior LaKeisha Jones (Winnsboro, LA/Crowville HS) scored on a lay-up to give the team a 53-52 lead with 8:37 to play. They would take the lead for good on Lisalette Garza’s (Kingsville/King HS) driving lay-up with 7:11 left. A three-pointer by Ursula Hill (Cypress/Cy-Fair HS) with 5:09 to play made it a 10-point lead and the Hogs would answer all challenges down the stretch.

The stars of the second half for the Javelinas were Jones and junior Felicia Soza (Beeville/A.C. Jones HS). Jones had 17 of her game-high 23 points in the half and finished with nine rebounds while making 8-of-14 shots from the field and 7-of-8 at the charity stripe. Soza had two points, no rebounds and four turnovers in the first half. In the second half, she poured in 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, had three steals and did not have a turnover.

Turnovers played a huge role in the game. The Javs committed just five turnovers in the second half while the Hornets were tagged with 17. A&M-Kingsville outscored the visitors by a 19-4 margin in points off turnovers.

The Javelinas shot 41.8 percent from the field and for the second straight game were automatic at the foul line making 20-of-24 attempts. They controlled the glass with 45 rebounds compared to only 36 for ESU.
Angela Franklin had 15 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Javs while Hill finished with 11 points and five assists.

The Hornets were led by Alli Volkens and Cassondra Boston who each scored 17 points. Volkens filled the stat sheet with 10 rebounds and four blocks. Ida Edwards added 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds. They went 25-of-63 from the floor and only 5-of-23 from three-point range. They did connect on 15-of-18 free throw attempts.

The Javelinas are now on a two game winning streak after starting the season with three tough losses on the road. They will have two more home games next week against Southwestern Oklahoma on Thursday night at 6 o’clock and Cameron on Saturday at 5 o’clock.

This was the first win against a ranked opponent for Javelina head coach Scott Hyland since taking over before the 2006-07 season.
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