KINGSVILLE, Texas – A strong fourth quarter was all the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program needed to snap a seven-game skid on Thursday at the Steinke Physical Education Center, as UT Permian Basin was knocked down for the season sweep behind a 73-65 win in Lone Star Conference play.

"We started off a bit sluggish tonight," said head coach Wade Scott, "and I thought UTPB came in here and gave us everything they had and then some. Our kids really battled, hung in there and overcame some adversity early in the game.

"I can't say enough about these kids and how much heart they have to hang in there and finish the game. Kristina [Kana] did a great job tonight, so did Ravae [Payne], Lidia [Guiral] and Angelica [Wall]. They all came off the bench and gave us valuable minutes in the first half. Rachel [Tapps] put the team on her shoulders for a bit and Cloe [Lane] hit some big shots for us. It was the live-action definition of a team win."

The Javelinas (9-15, 6-11 LSC) spread the wealth around and had four different members of the Blue and Gold record over 10 points in the win, sending the Falcons (4-21, 1-16 LSC) back on the road while moving onto the brink of an LSC Tournament berth.

The first quarter saw the squads trade punches throughout the 10 minutes of play. UTPB struck first at 9:44 on a layup from Kristian James before redshirt freshman Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) cracked the egg on the scoreboard for TAMUK with a pair of points from the charity stripe just 23 seconds later.

The Falcons built the lead up to seven later in the frame after Khali Pippins-Tryon made the fastbreak layup with 2:21 to play, but the Javelinas rattled off seven straight points starting on a contested layup from senior Cloe Lane (Kansas City, Mo.) at the 2:01 mark and capped off by three straight free throws from junior Rachel Tapps (Cypress, Texas) to even the count at 18 heading into the second.

The Blue and Gold kept the visitors at arms' length throughout the second after senior Kristina Kana (Mont Belvieu, Texas) nailed the trey at 6:47 for a 27-20 lead favoring the hosts, before sophomore Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas) padded the cushion back to 34-28 at 1:25.

UTPB closed the half on a handful of free throws from Pippins-Tryon as the lead was trimmed to 34-31 heading into the locker rooms.

TAMUK put away the first seven points of the second half to gain a 10-point advantage as Soliz drained a layup at 8:12 for a 41-31 lead. The Falcons came right back and chipped away at the lead over the next six minutes and eventually went head of the Javelinas with 2:53 remaining in the stanza courtesy of a fastbreak layup from James for a slim 45-44 score favoring the visitors.

The hosts were unfazed, however, with Soliz and Payne teaming up for a two-point gap at 1:20, but the UTPB ended the quarter with four straight free throws to put the hosts in a 49-47 disadvantage going into the final frame.

The Falcons kept the pressure up at the start of the fourth with a handful of points from Pippins-Tryon and Chynna Rivera for a 55-49 lead, but a free throw from Soliz at the 7:38 mark sparked a brief 10-2 run to put the Javelinas back ahead at 5:46 behind a 59-57 advantage.

The visitors maintained a slight edge after Lemia Ntor-Ue sunk the layup and 5:23 and owned a 65-62 lead with 3:50 to play behind a three-ball from Teya Morris, but TAMUK battened down the hatches and didn't allow a single point the rest of the way to secure the win.

Work was still needed on the offensive end as a pair of buckets from the line, courtesy of Tapps, started the decisive run. A driving layup from Payne at 3:04 put the lead back in the hosts' hands for good at 66-65, while a follow up trey from the Pearland, Texas, native ensured UTPB would never close the gap again.

Poetically enough, Payne provided a pair of points at the stripe in the waning seconds to ice the game at 73-65 to put the Javelinas back in the win column.

Soliz brought down her third double-double of the season behind 13 points and 11 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.

Tapps led TAMUK with 16 points from the floor, 10 coming from the free throw line, alongside five rebounds, three steals and a block.

Payne poured in 15 off the bench on a .500 clip, while Lane rounded out the quartet with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one block.

The Javelinas will celebrate their two seniors on Saturday, February 23, with a 2 p.m. CT tip off against Western New Mexico as the final home game of the 2018-19 season.

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

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