SAN ANGELO, Texas – Ope Ibrahim set a career-highs with 14 points and eight rebounds, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team lost to the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, 62-42, at the Angelo State University Thanksgiving Classic inside the Stephens Arena at The Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas on Saturday afternoon.
Ibrahim became the seventh different Javelina player to score in double figures this season. Shaq Debose also reached double digits with 12 points.
The Javs outshot their opponents at the charity stripe, 77% to 67%. They also totaled 11 steals.
FIRST QUARTER
Stout defense kept both offenses at bay early and four minutes in, Fort Lewis held a slim, 3-2 lead. A pair of threes by Astrea Reed and a free throw by Kelsey Wainright pushed the Skyhawks in front by four and DeBose got the Javs back on the board with a trey of her own. She followed that by hitting a jump shot and each side proceeded to trade scores twice for a margin of 14-11 after one.
SECOND QUARTER
Kayla Herrera put together a three-point play for Fort Lewis before Ibrahim hit for a pair and Reed converted a jumper. Ibrahim cut her team's deficit to five with another bucket, only to see four quick points from Vivian Gray put the Javelinas behind by nine.
Free throws by Debose and Sadie Russell upped the score to 24-18 and, two minutes later, the Javs were within four. Madison Crawford sliced that to two with a late jump shot and Kingsville headed into the locker room on a 7-0 run.
THIRD QUARTER
Five points by Reed, who would finish with 15, as well as buckets by Jordan Carter, Herrera and Shelby Patterson fueled a 10-2 Skyhawk run, giving them a 34-24 advantage. Brynae Thompson hit a layup for the Javelinas, but that was answered in kind by Reed and Carter then tacked on two more.
FOURTH QUARTER
A three-pointer by Briana Clah gave Fort Lewis a lead of 17 points with less than nine minutes to play. Clah added two foul shots 100 seconds later and, soon after, tossed in a trey. The Skyhawks began the final period with a 13-0 run before Emmeri Archer hit two free throws. After a three-pointer by Tanisha Begay, Ibrahim converted a three-point play and she later added a layup. Four foul shots by Debose, a layup by Angelica Wilson and a three-point play by Ibrahim closed out the scoring with an 11-2 run by the Javelinas at the end of the game.
The Hoggies will have a chance to bounce back on Tuesday, when they host Angelo State at the Steinke Physical Education Center at 5:15 p.m. Receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball by following @TAMUKWBB on Twitter and Instagram, liking the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
