DENTON, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program had a brilliant comeback effort fall short on Thursday in a Lone Star Conference matchup with Texas Woman's, as a 14-point deficit was erased before the game was lost at the line late at the Kitty MaGee arena.

"Our kids played their hearts out," said head coach Wade Scott. "We started a little slow but were able to keep it close. We had a shot to win it at the end but just came up a little bit short.

"I'm so proud of these kids for the heart and character they showed this week."

The Javelinas (8-13, 5-8 LSC) held a slim advantage over the Pioneers (9-12, 6-7 LSC) but gave up one too many fouls in the waning moments to suffer a 66-65 defeat on the road.

TWU started off the game on a 10-2 run as Carissa Moody sparked the rally with a midrange jumper at the opener. Junior Brynae Thompson (Houston, Texas) got the Blue and Gold back in gear with a jumper of her own at 5:07 to close the gap, while her trey later in the quarter put the Javelinas ahead at 11-10 with 3:54 showing on the clock.

The Pioneers quickly regained the lead and put TAMUK in a five-point deficit, but an and-one from sophomore Hannah Aucoin (Flower Mound, Texas) kept the visitors within striking distance but still down 16-14 heading into the second.

Both sides delved into a back-and-forth affair throughout the following stanza, with TAMUK taking a 28-26 lead at the 3:46 mark thanks to Aucoin's triple, but the hosts closed the quarter on an 11-0 run to put TAMUK in a 37-28 disadvantage going into the locker rooms.

The Pioneers kept the Javelinas at arms' length through most of the third before TAMUK trimmed the deficit to four after senior Cloe Lane (Kansas City, Mo.) drained a three-ball at the 2:49 of the stanza for a 46-42 score favoring TWU.

The hosts rebuilt the lead back to double digits heading into the fourth, however, with the Blue and Gold facing a deficit of 57-44.

TWU kept a comfortable lead at 59-45 near the midpoint of the final quarter, but a 15-0 run from the Javelinas turned the contest on its head as Aucoin sparked the run with a midrange jumper at 6:43.

The Flower Mound, Texas, native capped the run with a pair of free throws with 2:42 showing on the clock as the game devolved into another back-and-forth affair.

The lead exchanged hands four times in the final 2:29, with the Javelinas owning a slim 65-64 advantage with 12 seconds remaining in the game.

TAMUK had a couple of fouls to give before a third foul put the Pioneers at the line with four ticks left and Macy Wilkerson provided the dagger to end the comeback attempt as the final was cemented in stone at 66-65. A last-gasp from Lane fell short of the mark in the contests as the Blue and Gold suffered their fifth straight loss.

Lane led the Blue and Gold with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field, grabbing five rebounds in the process.

Junior Danielle Meador (Corpus Christi, Texas) added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Aucoin poured in 12 points off the bench.

The Javelinas are back on the road next week as they face off with Eastern New Mexico on Thursday, February 14, with tip off set for 6:30 p.m. CT in Portales, N.M.

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

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