KINGSVILLE, Texas – A low-scoring affair seemed apparent after the first half for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program on Thursday at the Steinke Physical Education Center, but the lead quickly grew out of control as No. 21/18 West Texas A&M took ahold of the lead after the break and never looked back en route to the decision, 56-32, in Lone Star Conference action.

"I thought we executed our game plan," said head coach Michael Madrid. "We wanted to make certain players take shots they weren't used to and our goal was to hold them under 60, which we accomplished.

"Offensively we were really stagnant. I think we let their zone dictate what we wanted to do, but I'm proud of their effort and I'm looking forward to getting better tomorrow."

The Javelinas (3-11, 2-10 LSC) were within striking distance at the break but the Lady Buffs () used a 15-0 run in the middle of the third to pull away for the win.

WT held the early advantage with a 5-0 cushion in the first minutes of the opening frame as TAMUK got layups from junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) and sophomore Jalynn Johnson (Sugar Land, Texas) set the score at 5-4 by the 7:52 mark.

Six of the final eight points went in favor of the visitors for an 11-6 lead going into the second before they pushed the gap to 15-8 early in the second. TAMUK managed four points through the remainder of the half, all from Mickens, while the Lady Buffs owned a 19-12 edge at the break courtesy of a Tiana Parker jumper to close out the stanza.

The Javelinas had four quick points by the six-minute mark of the third quarter, setting the score at 22-16 with 6:29 showing on the clock, but a layup from Abby Spurgin ignited a 15-0 run for WT and the end result was a 37-16 advantage with 3:31 left in the frame. Five points from the Blue and Gold, including three at the stripe, put the score at 37-21 going into the fourth, but the Lady Buffs increased the lead to 20 points by the 8:06 mark of the fourth before cruising to the 56-32 final.

Sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) led the Javelinas with 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting from the floor to go with three steals, two rebounds and one assist.

Johnson added eight points and four rebounds to her total, while Mickens tacked on six points and nine rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) tied for a game-high 11 rebounds as she brought in four on the offensive glass.

TAMUK remains at home this weekend as a 2 p.m. tipoff against Eastern New Mexico is set for Saturday, January 25, at the SPEC.

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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