KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – Texas A&M-Kingsville junior guard Dyana Bullinger (Spring/Klein HS) had a first half to forget on Saturday night against Midwestern State University, but responded with 14 second half points, including four consecutive free throws in the final moments to lead the Javelinas to a 63-57 win in Lone Star Conference South Division women’s basketball action. (box score)

Once again the Javelinas (12-5, 2-0) fell behind in the early minutes of the game as the Mustangs (6-10, 1-1) jumped out to a 24-12 lead.  Andrea Buben and Rosy Ofoegbu led the charge as each player score eight points in the first eight minutes of the game.

The Javelinas shut the Mustangs down over the final 12:44 of the first half as the allowed just seven points.  The Javs used a 9-0 and an 11-0 run to take the lead.  The Hoggies went into halftime with a 35-31 lead.

In the second half, the Javelinas pushed their lead to 10 points after Ursula Hill (Cypress/Cy-Fair HS) made a lay-up with 14:38 to play.  A Tammi Mitchell (Tyler/John Tyler HS) jumper with 12:31 remaining gave the Hoggies a 50-41 lead.  The scored remained that way for 4:17 when Katiya Jackson knocked down two free throws for the Mustangs.

A bucket by LaKeisha Jones (Winnsboro, LA/Crowville HS) with 5:29 remaining gave the Javelinas a 55-46 lead, but the Mustangs closed quickly.  Sunny Satery and Buben each dropped three-pointers and Jackson picked up a bucket to make it a 55-54 Hoggie advantage with 3:39 left.

In the final minutes the two teams battled hard, but the Javs did not allow the Mustangs to take a lead.  The Mustangs out rebounded the Javelinas 42-25 for the game, but it was a Kayla Naylor (Corpus Christi/Calallen HS) offensive rebound for Kingsville with 38 seconds left in the game that probably decided the game.  The Hogs worked the clock down and then Bullinger drove to the basket where she drew a foul with 14 seconds to play.  She knocked down both free throws to give the team a four-point lead.  Bullinger would tack on the final two points of the game after pulling down a defensive rebound and getting fouled.

The Javelinas shot 45.1 percent from the field for the game, made 6-of-15 three-pointers and were 11-of-15 from the foul line.  The team went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe in the second half.  Jones led the team with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.  Bullinger added 17 points and three steals while making 3-of-4 three-point attempts.  Felicia Soza (Beeville/A.C. Jones HS) added 11 points.  Hill dished out a team high five assists and had three steals.  The Javs forced 27 turnovers while committing only 18 of their own.

The Mustangs were led by Buben’s 19 points that including five three-pointers.  Ofoegbu added 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.  MSU shot 39.3 percent from the field, made 7-of-22 three-pointers and were 6-of-8 at the foul line.

 The Javelinas are back in action on Wednesday night at 6 o’clock against LSC South rival Abilene Christian in the Steinke Center.  The game can be watched and listened to online by clicking on the live broadcasts link on www.javelinaathletics.com. 
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