KINGSVILLE, Texas – Sadie Russell, Angelica Wilson and Bryane Thompson all scored in double figures, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team was handed an 83-64 defeat by the UT Permian Basin Falcons on Saturday afternoon at UTPB Gym in Odessa, Texas.
For Wilson her 15 points and 11 rebounds represented her 12th double-double of the season and she's also on a streak of eight straight games in double figures. The 18 points Russell poured in represented a season-high.
The record for the Javelinas now stands at 6-20 with a 3-15 conference mark. UT Permian Basin ups their record to 7-19 and 5-13.
An 8-0 run fueled by consecutive threes from Khali Pippins-Tryon and Sierra LaGrande put UTPB up at the start before five straight points by Russell got TAMUK on the board. Two points by each side pushed the score to 10-7, but the Falcons moved in front by nine when Jasmine Spriggins and LaGrande both hit from beyond the arc.
Tatyana McFarland swished a jumper for the Javs and Spriggins responded with a layup that Jackie Perez followed up with another trey. Buckets by each side kept UTPB's lead at 12 before two Alexandria Dockery free throws put the home team up by 14 after one quarter.
Despite three buckets by Russell and one by Wilson, the Falcons kept the Hoggies at bay thanks to a triple by LaGrande, a jumper by Pippins-Tryon and two foul shots by Kayla Bretherton. Thompson tossed in a three to try and get the Javs back in the game, but Perez responded with a triple of her own and then added another from beyond the arc.
The Hoggies cut their deficit to single digits with eight straight points, including consecutive treys from Madison Crawford and Thompson, but the last four points of the half were scored by the Falcons, putting them ahead, 46-33.
The first six points of the second half were scored by TAMUK, four of them coming from Wilson, but, with 5:22 to play in the quarter, UTPB put together an 8-0 run that gave them a 15-point advantage. A jumper by Wilson and a triple by Thompson brought the Javs to within five, but another three-pointer from Perez, who would finish with 12, gave the home team a 13-point lead that they carried into the final quarter.
In the final period, UTPB scored 11 of the first 12 points, bumping their lead up to 23 with under eight minutes to go. The Javelinas battled back with a 9-2 run to move within 14, but they were unable to cut the deficit to a number smaller than that as the Falcons stayed in control to clinch the victory.
The last two games on the Javelina women's basketball schedule are both at home, starting with a 5:15 p.m. matchup with Western New Mexico on Thursday. You can receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball by following @TAMUKWBB on Twitter and Instagram, liking the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports) and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
