KINGSVILLE, Texas – Less than 48 hours after their game in Commerce, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team will face another challenge in the form of the Tarleton State TexAnns, who will host the Javelinas on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas.
The quick turnaround is nothing new for coach Wade Scott and his student-athletes, who have played games on consecutive days twice this season. It will also provide the team with an immediate opportunity to bounce back from a 63-48 setback at the hands of the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions. The loss represented the eighth-in-a-row for the Javelinas, who have topped 50 points just twice during the current skid.
TAMUK's defense has remained strong all season and they continue to reside in the top half of the Lone Star Conference in points allowed, shooting percentage allowed and three-point shooting percentage allowed. Thursday's game also represented the 10th time this season the Javs have held an opponent below its scoring average.
On offense, the Javelinas have gotten a pair of solid performances from Victoria Salinas of late. The sophomore guard set a career-high against St. Edwards on Dec. 30th with 14 points and added 12 more against Commerce. Tatyana McFarland also found success against the Lions, coming off the bench to provide 12 points of her own. Angelica Wilson continued to crash the boards for TAMUK with nine rebounds on Thursday and is currently tied for third in the LSC with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game.
Tarleton State's (8-5, 2-3) season began with a pair of victories before the TexAnns slumped, losing four of their next five. Lately, Coach Misty Wilson's squad appears to have found its groove, winning five of six, including four-in-a-row. That streak includes a 104-point outburst against Arlington Baptist on Dec. 18th and a 16-point victory over Angelo State on Jan. 4th. This recent success has allowed Tarleton to move into seventh place in the LSC, three games behind conference leader West Texas A&M.
Coach Wilson's offense, which averages the third-most points in the league, revolves around a three-point attack that has crafted a percentage of 36.6, which ranks first in the LSC and in the top 30 nationally. Four players on Tarleton's roster are currently shooting 40% or better from beyond the arc.
The top scorer on TSU is forward MacKenzie Hailey, who has scored in double figures in every game this year, save one. Her mark of 14.6 points-per-game is third-best in the LSC and includes a 28-point day against Cameron on Dec. 2nd. Hailey in one of three TexAnns averaging better than 10.0 ppg.
The last 16 meetings in this series have all been won by Tarleton State, which has beaten the Javelinas 27 times in 44 contests. That streak includes all three games between the programs last season, the last of which came in the LSC Tournament, a 60-47 decision that ended TAMUK's season. The last victory for the Hoggies over their conference foes came on January 31st, 2010 in the form of a one-point triumph in Kingsville.
Links to live stats and audio of Saturday's matchup, as well as a postgame recap, can be found at javelinaathletics.com. 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.
