Box Score KINGSVILLE, Texas – Angelica Wilson went off to the tune of 20 points and 19 rebounds and the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team came from behind to outlast the Texas Woman's University Pioneers in overtime, 66-59, on Thursday night at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Wilson's 19 rebounds were the most by a Javelina in a game in the Wade Scott era and her 20 points were the hightest total for a Javelina this season. Shaq Debose set a personal best for the 2017-18 campaign with 17 points, scoring 10 of them in the extra session.
The Javelinas (6-14, 3-9) pulled down 56 rebounds, their most in a game since Nov. 11th of 2016 against East Central. Coach Scott also saw his squad knock down 23-of-27 free throws for a percentage of 85.2.% their highest mark from the charity stripe since Nov. 15th of 2015.
FIRST QUARTER
The first six minutes yielded even basketball with the teams tied at 7-7. Antoinette Shrepee put TAMUK in the lead with a layup, but a bucket by Ma'k'la Woods and a three-point play from KJ Stastny allowed the Pioneers (7-10, 4-7) to take a 12-9 lead after one period.
SECOND QUARTER
Following a layup by Emmeri Archer, Ajine Taylor connected with a three, giving TWU a four-point edge. Wilson quickly ate into that with a three-point play, only for Woods to respond with a jumper. Victoria Salinas brought TAMUK back to within one before the Pioneers pushed their lead to five. Sadie Russell made it a one-possession game with a triple and a Stastny free throw supplied the final point of the half, putting the score at 22-19.
THIRD QUARTER
Two early buckets allowed Texas Woman's to take a seven-point lead, but that would prove to be their largest advantage of the night and the Hoggies crept back to within two when Debose hit a trey with 6:29 to play in the quarter. The Javelinas got as close as one point two minutes later, but two Stastny foul shots and a long range basket from Desiree Phipps upped TWU's lead to 35-29. Wilson came back with another three-point-play and also responded to two Morgan Easley free throws with a layup, sending the squads to the final quarter three points apart.
FOURTH QUARTER
Three seconds into the last period of regulation, a jumper by Salinas allowed the Hoggies to slide within one, but Easley again converted twice from the charity stripe for TWU. After another layup by Wilson and one more Easley foul shot, Brynae Thompson canned a triple for TAMUK's first lead since the first quarter, but Easley responded in kind and the score moved to 43-41.
Undaunted, the Javs tied the score again on a jumper by Debose and moved ahead with 1:34 on the clock thanks to two Archer foul shots. Alexis Nezianya even things at 45 with two free throws of her own before Wilson untied the score again. After grabbing her 19th rebound of the night, Wilson converted a layup for the lead with 27 seconds remaining. The lead would not hold, however, as Nezianya scored with three seconds to play while also drawing Wilson's fifth foul. A missed foul shot by TWU's senior forward kept the game alive for overtime.
OVERTIME
The opening tip-off in the extra period found Archer, who charged straight to the basket for a layup and two Russell foul shots put the Javelinas ahead by four. A free throw by Nezianya was answered by two more points from Russell.
After the Pioneers scored and TAMUK added a point, Debose took over and almost single-handedly carried the Javs across the finish line. After hitting a layup that raised her team's lead to six, she grabbed a defensive rebound, drew a foul and calmly sank two foul shots, making the score 58-50. When the Pioneers moved to within six, Debose again headed to charity stripe and stretched the margin to eight with just over a minute remaining. Texas Woman's crawled to within three with less than 30 seconds on the clock, but free throws by Debose and Shrepee kept them at bay and secured the victory.
The Javelinas have a week to savor this win before they return to action on Feb. 1st against Midwestern State in Wichita Falls at 7 p.m. To receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball, you can follow @TAMUKWBB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports) and subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
