KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program had a fast start at the Steinke Physical Education Center on Thursday against UT Tyler and used the momentum to record the first home win for head coach Michael Madrid at 55-38 for the home opener of the 2020 calendar year.

"We're always excited to play at home in front of the home crowd," said Madrid. "I'm extremely excited about our defensive effort and I thought our kids, through three quarters, tuned in, focused, and defended well.

"Once we started hitting shots it changed the entire game. It was a great effort by everyone."

The Javelinas (3-7, 2-6 LSC) held the Patriots (2-10, 0-8 LSC) to four points through the first quarter and never relented en route to the decision. Sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) had a career day as her 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists all ended up as personal bests in the win.

UTT had its four points by the six-minute mark of the opening quarter as TAMUK strung together a 13-0 run over the next 10 minutes of game time for a 17-4 lead midway through the second stanza. Beezy Birchette ended the drought for the visitors with a layup with 5:52 on the clock but junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) responded with a driving layup of her own off a feed from Upton to keep the cushion at 13.

Both sides traded baskets for the remainder of the half as the Blue and Gold held a 26-12 lead at the break. The hosts ballooned the lead to 20 with back-to-back threes from junior Daisah Purnell (Kansas City, Mo.) with 6:29 remaining in the third and kept the pressure with a mid-range jumper from sophomore Jalynn Johnson (Sugar Land, Texas) that beat the buzzer going into the fourth.

The Javelinas hit the cruise button early in the final frame after a fastbreak layup from Johnson with 7:29 showing set the cushion at 25. The Patriots whittled the lead down to 17 late in the game but it was too much to overcome as TAMUK won out at 55-38.

Upton's 13 points came courtesy of a 4-for-10 mark from the floor, including three shots from beyond the arc. Purnell added 11 points of her own on three treys.

On the glass, Mickens alongside redshirt sophomore Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) added seven and eight rebounds, respectively, while Johnson and junior Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas) each pocketed two steals.

The Javelinas remain at the SPEC this Saturday, January 11, with No. 5/5 A&M-Commerce paying a visit to Kingsville for a 2 p.m. tipoff.

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

######