KINGSVILLE, Texas – In the midst of their best stretch of basketball during the 2017-18 season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team will look to build off the momentum of two wins in their last three games when they visit Midwestern State on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. matchup and then travel to Cameron on Saturday to meet the Aggies at 2 p.m.
The Hoggies currently own a record of 6-14 and are 3-9 in the Lone Star Conference. That mark puts Kingsville one game behind Texas Woman's University, the program currently holding the eighth and final spot in the in LSC tournament.
The Javelina offense has found success in TAMUK's last four games, topping 60 points in each contest, including 66 points in their most recent game, an overtime win against TWU, matching the team's season-high. The Hoggies are attempting to put together their longest such streak since the 2013-14 campaign, when they had a stretch of seven games in which they totaled better than 60 points. Coach Wade Scott has also had multiple players in double figures in each of his team's last four times on the court.
This recent increase in offensive output by the Javs has coincided with a stretch of outstanding play from senior Angelica Wilson. She's put up three double-doubles in her last six appearances and is averaging 14 points and nearly 13 rebounds per game since Jan. 18th. Her most impressive performance came against Pioneers when she set a season-high with 20 points and also pulled down 19 rebounds, the most by a Javelina since Scott took over as head coach in 2014. This hot streak has vaulted Wilson into second place in the LSC in rebounds per game with 9.2 and that mark also places her just outside the top 50 nationally. In addition to Wilson's resurgence, the Javelinas have had Emmeri Archer, Brynae Thompson, Antoinette Shrepee and Shaq Debose all set season-highs in scoring over the last three games.
While the Javelinas have been on the up-and-up of late, Midwestern State has been trending in the opposite direction. The Mustangs, who are in sixth in the LSC at 10-8 and 7-5, have suffered three losses in their last four competitions, the most recent of which was a defeat at the hands of Tarleton State where MSU came back from a 15-point deficit to take fourth quarter lead, only to fall by five. The good news for coach Noel Johnson is her team is back among all the comforts of home, where they've gone 5-3 this season. They'll be hosting a Javelina team that's seeking its second consecutive victory in Wichita Falls after a 60-47 triumph last season.
The Mustangs sit in the middle of the LSC in most statistics, with one of the exceptions being three-point field goal percentage defense. They've held the opposition to a mark of 26.3%, tops in the conference. The top offensive threat on coach Johnson's roster is forward Whitney Taylor, who's the only student-athlete who's averaging better than 10 points per game for Midwestern State. Taylor has hit double figures 10 times this season, with her season-high of 18 coming against Angelo State on Dec. 7th. When these two teams met in for the first time in December, Taylor tallied 12 points, but Kristin Rydell's 16 led the way in a 72-66 victory for the Mustangs. Rydell enters Thursday off one of her best performance of the season, a 17-point night against the TexAnns.
The Cameron Aggies are currently the owners of the No.7 seed in the LSC tournament, thanks to an even 6-6 mark in conference to go with an 8-12 record overall. They'll be trying to ride a wave of momentum after springing possibly the biggest upset of the Lone Star Conference season. On Saturday, the Aggies marched into Commerce to play the team with the best record in the league and emerged with a 94-87 shocker that snapped a nine-game win streak for the Lions. Jamie Bonnarens matched her career-high with 32 points to go with 12 rebounds, and was one of five Cameron players to top 10 points. The Aggies shot 53.3% in Commerce and posted a shooting percentage of 59.2% in the second half.
Bonnarens has established herself as possibly the best player in the LSC. Her 18.0 ppg is the league's highest total and she also ranks sixth in rebounds per game with 7.8. She's scored at least 15 points in seven of Cameron's last 10 games and has reached 20 points nine times. Bonnarens has also hit 10 rebounds five times and each one has coincided with a night of at least 20 points for the sophomore. One the few teams that kept Bonnarens relatively in check was the Javelinas, who limited her to 11 points during Cameron's December win over TAMUK in Kingsville.
Fans can follow each game live on Javelinaathletics.com and the conclusion of each contest will be followed by the publication of a recap. You can 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.
