KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – For the first time all season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s basketball team went down to defeat on the Steinke Center floor.  On Wednesday night, visiting Lone Star Conference South Division rival Abilene Christian University defeated the Javelinas, 71-62.  (box score)

The Javelinas (12-6, 2-1) faced difficulties against the Wildcats (10-7, 2-1) all night long.  The first bad break for the Hoggies came when leading scorer and rebounder LaKeisha Jones (Winnsboro, LA/Crowville HS) was unable to suit up due to an injury.  After tip-off, things did not get much better for the Javs as the started the half shooting just 2-for-20 from the field while the Wildcats took advantage of their superior inside game.

The Wildcats dominated the majority of the half and took a 34-20 lead into halftime.  The first half numbers for the Javelinas were ugly as they went 5-of-33 from the field and just 2-for-14 from three-point range.  ACU did not shoot exceptionally well, but connected on 39.4 percent of their field goal attempts and made 4-of-6 three-pointers.

In the second half, the Wildcats extended their lead to 27 points before the Javelinas got anything going.  The Hoggies finally started to heat up on the offensive end with about seven minutes to play in the game.  Trailing 61-37 with 7:07 remaining, the Javs went on a quick 12-0 run to close to within 12 points with 4:43 remaining.

The Javelina defense continued to do the job against the Cats, but the offense was stymied.  They closed to within seven points on a lay-up by Reagan Sutton (Portland/Pusch Christian HS) with 41 seconds remaining, but could get no closer.

The loss snapped a nine game home winning streak and prevented the Javelinas from setting a new school record for best start to the season at home.

The Wildcats held a big advantage on the inside as they outscored the Javelinas 32-14 on points in the paint and 17-7 on second chance points.

The Hoggies were led by junior Dyana Bullinger’s (Spring/Klein HS) 19 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting and four steals.  Angela Franklin (Vacaville, CA/Vanden HS) added 15 points and eight rebounds while Sutton had a season high 10 points and nine rebounds in the absence of Jones.  Sutton also drew four charges in the game.  Ursula Hill (Cypress/Cy-Fair HS) dished out a game high seven assists.  The team shot 29.0 percent from the field, made 9-of-27 three-pointers and was 17-of-23 at the charity stripe.  The Hogs committed 16 turnovers, but could only force 12.

The Wildcats had four players score in double figures and Audrey Maxwell-Lively led the way with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.  Jamie Meyer led the team with 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds.  Courtney Laing added 12 points off the bench and Kelsy Darby contributed 11 points.  Kat Kundmueller made four free throws in the final minute of the game, dished out five assists and had four steals.

The Wildcats shot 37.3 percent from the field, made 5-of-13 three-pointers and were 16-for-20 at the foul line.  They pulled down six more rebounds than the Javelinas.  

 The Javelinas are back in action next Wednesday night at 6 o’clock at LSC South rival Eastern New Mexico.
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