COMMERCE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program fell behind late in the contest to A&M-Commerce on Saturday at The Field House and returned home empty-handed with an 87-38 loss in the Lone Star Conference matchup to close out the first weekend of intraleague play.

The Javelinas (2-5) put up a fight in the first half before the Lions (4-4) poured it on through the second to come away with the decision.

TAMUK kept the contest close early as junior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) put away five points in the opening quarter to keep the count even at seven apiece at the 5:16 mark. The hosts closed out the quarter on top with an eight-point burst to put the Javelinas down 15-8 going into the second quarter.

The Blue and Gold couldn't get much going in the following stanza as TAMUC extended the lead to double digits by the 8:29 mark at 19-8 and built the cushion to 20 by the end of the half. Thompson led all scorers at the break with nine points on a .500 clip with the Javelinas facing a 34-14 deficit to start the third frame.

TAMUK opened the second half of play with a 7-0 run, capped by a trey from senior Cloe Lane (Kansas City, Mo.) and a fastbreak layup from junior Rachel Tapps (Cypress Ranch, Texas), but the lead proved too much to overcome as the Lions methodically built the cushion out to 30 points by the end of the quarter at 59-29 going into the fourth.

TAMUC piled on the points to start the fourth and eventually came away with the 87-38 final.

Thompson led the Javelinas with 11 points to go with two rebounds. Lane ended up with seven points and two rebounds coupled with one assist in the contest.

Sophomore Nicole Hutchins (Berowra, Australia) kept her blocked shots streak alive as she ended with one in 18 minutes of action. The transfer from New Orleans has tallied at least one block in all seven TAMUK games to start the year.

The Javelinas will remain on the road next Thursday, December 6, as they make another trek to the north for a matchup against Angelo State starting at 5:30 p.m. CT in San Angelo, Texas.

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

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