PROVO, Utah – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program faced its second Division-I opponent of the year in BYU on Thursday at the Marriott Center and fell to the Cougars in the marquee matchup 90-38 to wrap up the week of play.

"BYU is an extremely well-coached team and will have an incredibly successful season," said head coach Michael Madrid. "We can't thank them enough for the opportunity to play in Provo. We will learn a lot from this game and look forward to preparing for our first LSC game when we return home."

The Javelinas fell behind early as the hosts dropped in the first 13 points of the game before junior Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas) broke the ice with a three-ball at the 5:13 mark of the opening frame. BYU kept a foot on the gas as they closed out the stanza on a 10-point run for a 23-3 advantage going to the second.

Junior Daisah Purnell (Kansas City, Mo.) got the scoring started in the following quarter with a shot from beyond the arc as the visitors did what they could to match the Cougars shot-for-shot for the remainder of the half. She added another deep three midway through the quarter before senior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) joined in on the action with a trey of her own at the 2:36 mark.

BYU carried the lead into the locker rooms at 44-17 and bookended the break with a pair of buckets. Senior Danielle Meador (Corpus Christi, Texas) provided points for TAMUK with a three-pointer at the 8:51 mark of the third but was matched by the Cougars' Jasmine Moody shortly after.

The hosts built the cushion up to 71-28 at the end of the quarter and used the momentum to push their total to 90 by the end of the game. Freshman Maeghan Palmer (Midlothian, Texas) opened the scoring in the final frame while Payne provided the final say with a midrange jumper to cement the visitor's total at 38.

Palmer and Purnell both poured in eight points in the loss for TAMUK. The former went 3-for-7 from the field along with three rebounds, while the latter finished 3-for-10 off the bench with five boards.

Meador added six points, while Payne and Thompson both finished with five.

The Javelinas resume the Division-II schedule next week with the opening weekend of Lone Star Conference play on the road as they face Oklahoma Christian on Thursday, November 21 before visiting UAFS on November 23.

Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. To keep up-to-date with Javelina Women's Basketball, follow the program on Facebook /JavelinaWBB or Twitter @Javelina_WBB

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