KINGSVILLE, Texas – Despite 24 points from junior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program was unable to keep the winning streak alive on Saturday at the Steinke Physical Education Center and suffered only the second loss in the last seven outings at 80-74 in the Lone Star Conference matchup against Cameron.

"I thought Cameron came out on fire to begin with," said head coach Wade Scott. "Especially when they hit those [three-pointers] to give themselves a cushion. We were able to fight back in the second half and take the lead, but we came up short at the end.

"You have to tip your hat to Cameron, because they did a great job, but I thought our kids really put forth a great effort."

Thompson upped her Lone Star Conference-leading scoring average to 16.8 following the Javelinas' (8-9, 5-5 LSC) loss to the Aggies (7-11, 4-6 LSC), including a blistering 21.7 mark over the last seven games to put TAMUK in the middle of the pack in the LSC standings before the second half of conference play.

Cameron came out guns blazing in the first quarter and built a 21-9 lead by the 4:26 mark courtesy of four baskets from beyond the arc to put TAMUK in the early hole. The Blue and Gold eventually worked their way out of the double-digit deficit and used a pair of treys from junior Danielle Meador (Corpus Christi, Texas) and senior Kristina Kana (Mont Belvieu, Texas) to eventually trim the score down to 28-22 heading into the second.

The Javelinas suffered through a rough scoring drought in the second stanza, unfortunately, and didn't hit their first field goal until 4:28 remaining in the half on a layup from freshman Bridget Upton (George West, Texas).

CU kept the hosts at arm's length, however, and held a 39-30 advantage going into the locker rooms after Maighan Hedge made one-of-two from the line.

TAMUK wiped away the nine-point deficit in a hurry to start the third quarter as Thompson ignited an 11-0 run with a driving layup to start the frame while senior Cloe Lane (Kansas City, Mo.) capped it with a mid-range jumper at the 7:16 mark for a 41-39 lead favoring the Javelinas.

The Aggies ended their drought with 6:56 to go in the quarter to keep the contest close, but the Blue and Gold held on to a slim lead at 54-52 heading into the fourth.

Both sides traded punches through the early portion of the final quarter as a jumper from redshirt freshman Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) knotted the contest at 60 apiece with 6:59 to play.

A response from Cameron was all it took to put the Javelinas on the backend of the score as Hedge drained the layup at 6:47 and the Aggies never surrendered the lead through the remainder of the bout. A desperation heave from Lane with 37 seconds left found the mark but CU ended up icing the game at the line en route to the 80-74 final.

Thompson's 24 points came on a 40.0% clip as she added three rebounds and three assists. Lane ended with 18 points, three rebounds, one block and one steal while going 7-of-12 from the field.

Meador brought down her second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds, added four assists and wrapped her day with three steals.

The Javelinas will remain at the SPEC next week to start the second half of LSC play. A&M-Commerce will pay a visit to Kingsville on Thursday, January 26, for Pack the House Night with tip off at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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

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