KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program took on No. 19 Angelo State in a midweek matchup on Tuesday at the Steinke Physical Education Center, and suffered a fourth straight loss in Lone Star Conference play at 78-61 following a sluggish first half.

The Javelinas (8-12, 5-8 LSC) kept the score close midway through the first quarter, but found themselves in a scoring drought going into the second as the Rambelles (17-2, 11-2 LSC) built up a 20-point cushion before coasting to the final whistle.

TAMUK had five different players score in the first six minutes of the game with sophomore Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas) starting the run with a midrange jumper at 8:59 before redshirt freshman Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) served as the bookend with a pair of free throws to put the Blue and Gold ahead at 11-10 by the 4:22 mark.

The Rambelles found the next gear in their offense, however, as they rattled off 10 of the next 12 points to take a 20-13 lead into the second.

The drought continued to start the following stanza as the Javelinas managed a contested layup from Soliz at 9:26 before ASU came away with the next 12 points before the next TAMUK point. Senior Kristina Kana (Mont Belvieu, Texas) added a bucket from the charity stripe at 5:09 but the hosts couldn't make a dent in the score as the Rambelles owned a 38-18 lead with 3:30 remaining in the opening half.

The deficit continued to grow for TAMUK throughout the frame as junior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) sank a trey in the final minute before De'Anira Moore added a buzzer-beating layup in the waning moments to put the Javelinas down 46-21 at the break.

ASU matched the Blue and Gold shot-for-shot throughout the third as TAMUK couldn't trim the gap below 19 in the quarter with a 64-39 score favoring the visitors showing on the scoreboard going into the fourth.

The final quarter was much of the same with the Javelinas unable to get within 20 points of the lead before the final minute as a pair of free throws from Soliz in the final second became the last points of the game for a 78-61 final.

Soliz finished with 16 points on a 3-for-7 mark from the field, adding 10-of-11 from the line, alongside four rebounds and two steals.

Kana and Thompson both added 10 points, with the former adding five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

The Javelinas will return to action on Thursday, February 7, with the first of three road LSC games taking place in Denton, Texas, against Texas Woman's with tip off set for 7 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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