KINGSVILLE, Texas – Another hard-fought first half punctuated the court at the Steinke Physical Education Center on Saturday for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program, but a slow second half allowed Eastern New Mexico to pull away with the decision in the Lone Star Conference matchup, 60-45.

"The one thing that anybody can't say about us," said head coach Michael Madrid, "is that we quit. We played extremely hard, but it's been our M.O. all year long. We have a decent first half and put ourselves in a good position, but we come out flat in the second.

"I've got to do a better job with the corrections we make at halftime to prepare them for the second half. The good thing is that we have more opportunities to play and correct it, so we're looking forward to practice on Monday and getting better."

The Javelinas (3-12, 2-11 LSC) faced a two-point deficit at the break, but the Greyhounds (13-5, 7-5 LSC) took an 18-10 edge in the third and carried it to win.

ENMU took the first six points of the game before a jumper from sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) put TAMUK on the board just past the eight-minute mark. A layup from junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) followed by a trey from Upton less than a minute later put the hosts up 7-6 with 6:31 to play, but seven straight points from the visitors flipped the script with three minutes remaining in the opening quarter for a 13-7 advantage.

The Greyhounds carried an 18-11 cushion into the second before the Javelina defense made an impression in the stanza. The Blue and Gold held their opponents to eight points in the frame, the 12th time an opponent has been held to fewer than 10 points this season, while a long-range shot from Upton gave the hosts a 21-20 edge at the 5:55 mark.

Both sides went back-and-forth from that point with Upton providing the final say in the quarter as she buried the mid-range jumper with seconds to go to set the score at 26-24 going into the locker rooms.

A triple from junior Treazure Mouton (Houston, Texas) gave TAMUK another one-point lead to begin the third, quickly matched by a layup from Natalie DeLonge on the next possession to swing momentum back the other, and the Javelinas suddenly found themselves in the midst of a 10-0 Greyhound run that allowed the visitors a 36-27 cushion with 5:12 remaining in the quarter.

ENMU ended up with a double-digit lead at the end of the third at 44-34 and used the momentum to push the lead to 19 midway before the Javelinas cut the deficit to 12 with a layup from Mickens with 1:42 to play, but it wasn't enough to stem the tide as the visitors came away with the 60-45 final.

Upton matched her career-high with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor, including a 4-for-6 mark from beyond the arc.

Mickens, meanwhile, ended up with 13 points and eight rebounds, just shy of her season-best in each category while at TAMUK.

The Javelinas take to the road next week with a visit to Wichita Falls, Texas, on Thursday, January 30, for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against Midwestern State.

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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