KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program ended the first homestand of 2019 with a 53-43 loss to Western New Mexico on Saturday at the Steinke Physical Education Center.

"The biggest thing we can ask of them throughout the year," said head coach Michael Madrid, "is that we're getting better from game to game. Coach [Kayla] Weaver and I have been extremely pleased with them from the defensive standpoint, they're playing hard and following our defensive schemes game to game, now we just need more production offensively from a lot of people.

"Hopefully we can continue to work that onto the floor and get better, but again, I like where we're at and I'm excited for the Christmas Break, getting some time off and spending it with the family, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the floor in January."

The Javelinas (1-6, 0-5 LSC) held the lead after the first quarter but where slowed in the second as the Mustangs (4-5, 1-4 LSC) pulled ahead and never looked back end route to the decision.

TAMUK opened the game on an 8-0 run courtesy of a pair of treys from sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas), who was getting her first career start, along with a driving layup from classmate Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) by the 6:41 mark.

WNMU quickly cut the lead in half with a three-ball from Daria Vatrushkina just ahead of the media timeout, but a 9-2 run sparked by a layup from freshman Maeghan Palmer (Midlothian, Texas) pushed the cushion into double digits as the Blue and Gold held a 19-9 advantage going into the second.

The following frame flipped the script on the Javelinas as they managed only one point off a free throw from junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) through nine minutes in the quarter. A layup from sophomore Jalynn Johnson (Sugar Land, Texas) with 47 seconds remaining in the half brought the drought to an end, but the damaged had been done as the Mustangs owned a 32-24 lead at the break.

The hosts came within two points of the lead as a 10-4 burst capped by a free throw from Soliz at the 2:44 mark kept the game close, but the visitors got a jumper from Kyanne Kowatch in the waning moments to keep TAMUK at arms' length with a 38-34 score favoring WNMU going into the fourth.

The Javelinas trimmed the deficit back to one possession early in the final stanza as a shot from Mickens at the charity stripe set the score at 40-37 with 7:02 showing on the clock, but nine straight points from the Mustangs became the dagger in the back as a 49-37 lead with 1:53 play proved too great to overcome.

TAMUK added a handful of baskets through the final few minutes, but WNMU held on from the line to cement the score at 53-43 to bring the 2019 portion of the schedule to an end.

Upton finished with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting to lead the Blue and Gold, a new career-high for her, to go with two rebounds and two assists.

Mickens and Soliz finished with six points apiece as the former grabbed six rebounds to the latter's three boards and three steals.

Junior Ravae Payne (Pearland) missed out on her third straight game in double-figure scoring as she finished with four, but she added six assists to her total which just missed out on her career-high of seven set against Black Hills State on November 8.

The Javelinas will have the next week off and will return to action in 2020 on January 2 with a road trip to Stephenville, Texas, for a matchup against Tarleton.

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

######