EDINBURG, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program brought its Division I schedule to a close this evening with a 66-45 loss to UTRGV at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

"I am extremely pleased with how hard we played tonight," said head coach Michael Madrid. "UTRGV is an extremely well-coached team and they are going to win a lot of games. We have a lot to clean up offensively but I love the direction we are headed.

"We are excited about spending time with our family heading into the break and then getting back to work next week."

The Javelinas were led by senior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) with 13 points from the floor, while junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) was the other half of the one-two punch as she posted 10 points and five rebounds.

TAMUK struck first with a deep ball from senior Danielle Meador (Corpus Christi, Texas) at the start of the contest, but the Vaqueros responded quickly with a pair of driving layups from Jordan Agustus and Megan Johnson shortly after.

A trey from junior Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas) at the 6:51 mark evened the count at 6-6 in the opening quarter before Mickens added on a midrange jumper before the media timeout for an 8-6 lead for the Blue and Gold.

The lead was quickly erased and UTRGV posted a pair of free throws coming out of the timeout to knot the score at eight apiece, while a fastbreak layup from Iva Belosevic put the advantage firmly in the hosts' hands at 10-8 with 4:40 remaining in the frame.

The Vaqueros built momentum with a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and opened the second stanza on a 7-0 run to put the Javelinas' deficit to 20-10 at the 6:47 mark. A pair of free throws from newcomer Maeghan Palmer (Midlothian, Texas), followed by a jumper from Thompson and a pair of free throws from Payne, cut the lead down to seven at 23-16 just after the second media timeout, but UTRGV pushed the cushion back to double digits with a 7-0 run to close out the half at 30-16.

TAMUK cut into the lead at the start of the third, courtesy of two free throws from Mickens and a long ball from Thompson, but the hosts poured in a trey from Halie Jones and a layup from Agustus to bring the lead back to 37-21 with 6:24 showing on the clock.

UTRGV kept the pressure up as they converted the lead to 49-29 by the end of the third and used a pair of three-pointers early in the fourth to keep the Javelinas at arms' length. The final score of 66-45 was cemented shortly after.

Payne added nine points for the visitors to go with five assists, three rebounds, and three steals, while Meador finished with six points and six rebounds. Sophomore Jalynn Johnson (Sugar Land, Texas) rounded out the starting lineup with four points and four boards to go with a pair of pickpockets.

TAMUK has the next 18 days off and will resume the Lone Star Conference schedule after the break with a matchup against Texas A&M International on December 14 in Laredo, Texas.

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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