STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s basketball team kicked off the Lone Star Conference South Division schedule with an impressive win at Tarleton State University on Wednesday night, 82-78 in front of a crowd of 1,458.  (box score)

The Javelinas (11-5, 1-0) used a 29-7 second half run to take control of the game.  The Hoggies went from down 13 to leading by nine points over an 11 minute span.  In the final moments, the TexAnns (9-7, 0-1) closed to within three points, but were unable to draw any closer.  The win snapped an eight game losing streak for the Javs against the TexAnns.

The first half of the game was all Tarleton State as they forced 15 turnovers and outscored the Javs by a 16-4 margin on points off turnovers.  JoAnne Jones scored 14 points to lead the TexAnns to a 43-30 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the Javelinas turned the table thanks to an exceptional shooting performance.  The squad went 14-for-18 from the field, made all four three-pointers they attempted and were 18-of-22 at the foul line.  The Javs outscored the TexAnns 52-35 in the second half.

After the game, Javelina head coach Scott Hyland talked about the keys to the game.  “We eliminated the second shots in the second half,” the coach said.  “We were hurt by second shots in the first half.  We executed the offense and had a lot of people make big plays.”

One of the people who made big plays for the Javs was Tammi Mitchell (Tyler/John Tyler HS).  She came off the bench to score nine points while making all four of her field goal attempts and one free throw.

The Javelina offense was led by senior center LaKeisha Jones (Winnsboro, LA/Crowville HS) who had 20 points, five rebounds and two blocks.  Junior guard Dyana Bullinger (Spring/Klein HS) added 15 points while making both of her three-point attempts and 7-of-8 free throw attempts.  Junior Angela Franklin (Vacaville, CA/Vanden HS) chipped in with 14 points and five boards.

The Javs shot a season high 63.0 percent from the field, made 4-of-7 three-point attempts and were 20-of-24 from the foul line.  The team pulled down nine more rebounds than the TexAnns.

The TexAnns were led by Jones’ game-high 25 points and five blocked shots.  Shelby Adamson added 18 points and eight steals while D’Anna Dingler contributed 11 points.  TSU shot 46.3 percent from the field, made 6-of-20 three-pointers and were 10-for-17 from the foul line.  They had 16 steals and forced the Javs into 28 turnovers while committing only 14 of their own.

The Javelinas are back in action on Saturday against LSC South rival Midwestern State at 5 o’clock in the Steinke Center.  The game can be listened and watched online by clicking on the live broadcasts link on www.javelinaathletics.com.
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