KINGSVILLE, Texas – With their first win of the 2017-18 season in their back pocket, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team is preparing for a home-and-home series against the Texas A&M International Dustdevils, with the first game at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m, followed by a meeting at the Steinke Physical Education Center on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.
The Javelinas first mark in the win column in the young season came on Tuesday at the expense of St. Mary's University. TAMUK earned a 48-46 triumph in large part due to an outstanding night from senior forward Angelica Wilson, who put up her second career triple-double, scoring 14 points to go with 11 rebounds. She also provided the winning points for her team by sinking a layup with 10 seconds left.
Through three games, the Javs have outrebounded all three opponents and are currently averaging 39.7 boards per game. Tatyana McFarland leads the roster with 25 rebounds, the fourth-most in the Lone Star Conference and she also stands as the team's top shooter at 60%. Wilson is second on the squad in both categories with 20 rebounds and a shooting percentage of 47.4.
Looking to recover from a 2-25 campaign in his inaugural season at the helm, TAMIU coach Jeff Caha brought in 12 new players and will field a very different team from the one the Javs knocked off twice one year ago. The Dustdevils, however, are still trying to find their stride. In their three games this season, all losses, they've have failed to reach 60 points. They've also shot under 35% and been outrebounded each time on the court, a trend they'll be trying to change on Saturday.
The leader of the TAMIU attack so far this season has been junior transfer Tantashea Giger, who came to Laredo after beginning her collegiate career at Johnson County Community College. She's already topped 20 points twice and her 19.3 points per game are tied for the best mark in the Heartland Conference. Her top performance came against Black Hills State on Nov. 11th, when she netted 22 points.
This year's home-and-home with the Dustdevils marks the sixth time in the last seven years these two schools have met twice in one season. TAMUK took both meetings last season, winning at home, 60-46, and then visiting Laredo and dominating their hosts, 85-55. Kingsville also won in Laredo during the 2015-16 campaign, but International returned the favor when they visited the SPEC a month later. The last victory for the Dustdevils over the Javelinas on their home court came in Nov. of 2014, when they collected a 56-48 win. The Javs lead the all-time series, 12-8.
For live coverage of both games, visit Javelinaathletics.com. Live video and audio will be available for Tuesday's contest with Mark Inserra providing the play-by-play. Once the final buzzer sounds on both Saturday and Tuesday, Javelinaathletics.com is also where you can go for a complete recap.
