AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program found itself in an early deficit to St. Edward's on Saturday at the Recreation and Convocation Center, and ended up on the backend of a 62-43 final score to wrap up the holiday weekend.

The Javelinas (2-3) kept the game close through the second half but failed to find the winning combination as the Hilltoppers (5-1) came away with the 19-point win.

TAMUK stumbled a bit coming out of the gate, but still managed to stay close to SEU at 6:52 in the first after junior Rachel Tapps (Cypress Ranch, Texas) drove to the lane and sunk the layup for a 6-4 deficit in the early portions. Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers connected for eight of the final nine points to put the Javelinas in a 14-5 disadvantage going into the second stanza.

Senior Kristina Kana (Mont Belvieu, Texas) helped narrow the gap to three at 18-15 late in the second with a trey at the 3:10 mark to cap off an 11-4 TAMUK run, but it wasn't enough to get the Javelinas over the hill as St. Edward's held a 22-15 lead going into the locker rooms. The Blue and Gold had five different members tally a bucket in the run, with sophomore Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas), junior Danielle Meador (Corpus Christi, Texas) and senior Cloe Lane (Kansas City, Mo.) each contributing two in the process.

SEU built the cushion up to double digits in the third quarter, connecting on three long-range shots and a handful of layups for a 39-27 advantage going into the final quarter. Tapps kept the Javelinas within striking distance as she made both of her attempts from the line in the waning seconds of the quarter.

TAMUK trimmed the lead to single digits midway through the fourth as junior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) took a feed from Tapps and drained the layup to let the line score at 47-40 favoring the hosts with 5:52 to play. The Hilltoppers could not be slowed, however, as they rebuilt the lead back to double digits with a nine-point burst over the next three minutes and held the visitors to three points through the remainder of the game to take the decision at 62-43.

Thompson ended the game leading TAMUK in the scoring category for the fourth straight contest, taking 10 points on five made shots to go with two rebounds and one steal. Tapps was the other Javelina who ended close to double digits as she tallied eight behind a 4-for-5 mark from the charity stripe alongside seven rebounds and two assists.

The Blue and Gold will open the 2018-19 Lone Star Conference schedule on the road next week as they make the trek north to Stephenville, Texas, on Thursday, November 29, to take on Tarleton. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT.

To keep up-to-date with Javelina women's basketball, follow the program on Facebook at /JavelinaWBB, or on Twitter @TAMUKwbb

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