SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Women's Basketball) – Micah Weaver had a career night against one of NCAA Division II's toughest defenses, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists. However, Morgan Pullins and Dezirae Elias provided most of the offensive punch for St. Mary's University (6-2) as the Lady Rattlers defeated Texas A&M University-Kingsville (0-6), 64-52, on Thursday evening at the Bill Greehey Arena.
Pullins and Elias entered the nonconference contest ranked No. 9 and No. 3 nationally in double-doubles and steals, respectively. Pullins went 13-of-18 from the field for 27 points and pulled down 15 rebounds and Elias swiped four passes to lead the Lady Rattlers to a season sweep over the Javelinas. Kiara Etheridge added a game-high 17 rebounds as St. Mary's outrebounded TAMUK 53-to-38 while the defense held the Hogs to a 29 percent shooting performance.
Alexis Copeland came off the bench to score nine points and added three steals and
Ope Ibrahim pulled down five rebounds in 12 minutes. The Javelinas struck first, taking a quick lead off Weaver's jumper and following back-to-back Rattler layups,
Lauren Jay connected on a three-pointer to give the Hogs a 5-4 lead. Trailing by as much as six with 13:45 remaining, the Javelinas went on a 9-0 run to regain the lead with 12:42 left in the first half. The teams continued to trade points and St. Mary's entered the locker room with a 30-26 lead despite Texas A&M-Kingsville's 17 bench points. The opening 20 minutes featured seven lead changes.
After allowing a basket to begin the second half, the Javelinas went on another run, this time scoring six unanswered points to tie the contest at 32 with 16:48 remaining. However, the Hogs hit a dry spell and went scoreless for over four minutes and the Rattlers capitalized, going on a 14-0 run to blow the game open. TAMUK ended its cold streak and connected on its first field goal since the 16:48 mark with just over eight minutes remaining in the game, but the contest was too far out of reach as St. Mary's downed Texas A&M-Kingsville, 64-52.
The Javelinas take a quick break for finals week and return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. when they host St. Edward's University at the Gil H. Steinke Physical Education Center-Kingsville Hampton Inn Court. Fans will have the opportunity to take photos with Porky's Clause and donations can be made for Toys for Tots throughout the week by visiting McCulley Hall.
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