KINGSVILLE, Texas - With the start of the 2020-21 season less than 24 hours away, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program is set to embark on its second year under the direction of head coach
Michael Madrid as they are set to face UAFS in the Lone Star Conference opener on Friday, December 11, with tip-off at 2 p.m. CT in the Steinke Physical Education Center.
The Javelinas recently announced the
home basketball policy for the season, where general admission tickets will not be sold to the public. While tickets are unavailable, the LSC Digital Network will carry the full slate of conference games in pay-per-view format. Fans can purchase a
single-day all-access pass for $10 to watch and download live games on the
Mendoza's Pharmacy Javelina Sports Network.
Madrid's Javelinas finished his first season with a 4-20 overall mark and a 3-19 finish in LSC contests. Following the year, he announced the addition of
nine signees to don the Blue and Gold starting in the Fall of 2020, with four inking their commitment during the early signing period followed by another five after the season.
In total, 11 newcomers grace the 2020-21 roster as senior
Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) and sophomore
Maeghan Palmer (Midlothian, Texas) serve as the two returners from Madrid's first year at the helm. Mickens started all 24 games for TAMUK and averaged 9.1 points and 7.0 rebounds with a season-high 23 points coming against St. Mary's on February 29 as she recorded at least 10 points in 10 games.
Palmer, meanwhile, appeared in all 24 games with three starts and averaged 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.6 minutes on the court. She recorded a season-high eight points twice on the year, first against Cameron on February 1, to go with a season-best seven rebounds, and second against Texas Woman's on February 27.
The four newcomers to join in the fall include freshmen
Devon Williams (Gonzales, Texas),
Janessa Payne (Aledo, Texas),
Annelise Dominguez (El Paso, Texas) and
Veyda Lake (Houston, Texas). Williams is a two-sport athlete from Gonzales High School where she was named the District 27-4A MVP while leading her team to the area round of the playoffs to go with a TABC All-Region nod.
Payne ended up crossing the 1,200-point threshold in her prep career between All Saints Episcopal and Aledo High School. Her senior year at the former included a 30-1 record as she reached the playoffs and was named 6A TAPPS All-District, All-State and Academic All-State.
Dominguez is a two-time Bi-District Champion out of Chapin High School as she totaled over 1,700 points in her illustrious career. Her first few seasons resulted in Co-Newcomer and Co-Offensive MVP awards alongside a First Team All-District honor before ending her career with a 5A District MVP accolade and spot on the El Paso All-City team.
Lake rounded out the fall early signees as a four-time All-Academic honoree for Clear Brook High School to go with her four All-District distinctions as she led the team to clinch the bronze bracket at the district tournament as a senior.
The five who joined in the fall include the junior college transfer duo of
Mia Cherry (Brock, Texas) and
Brianna Pena (Weslaco, Texas), to go with the three freshmen of
Mia Rivers (College Station, Texas),
Rebekah Hailey (College Station, Texas), and
Jayde Tschritter (Corpus Christi, Texas).
Cherry joined the team as a junior from Blinn College where she was a Region XIV All-Conference honoree for the 24th-ranked team in the nation while averaging 9.7 points per game. Prior to her time at Blinn, Cherry was a six-sport athlete at Brock High School and ended up with All-District, TABC All-Region and TGCA All-State honors before her prep career finished.
Pena comes to Kingsville from Hill College where she finished with the sixth-most points score all-time at 576 in two years while she broke the record for most field goals made at 230. She was an All-NTJCAC selection after the 2019-20 and was also an NJCAA Academic All-American and NTJCAC All-Academic selection.
Rivers is one of two newcomers on the Javelinas who was a 2020 state semifinalist for College Station High School as she helped lead the team to three District, Bi-District and Area championships in four years. Her team accolades are paired with three All-District, two All-Brazos Valley, a TGCA All-Region, TGCA All-State and TABC All-State honors.
Hailey comes to South Texas as the other member of the College Station prep team as a four-year letter winner and four-year District All-Academic honoree. She ended up setting four school records, including most steals in a season (166), most three-points made in a game (6), most three-pointers made in a season (76), and most three-pointers made in a career (87).
Tschritter split her prep career between Flour Bluff High School in Texas and DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Fla., as she was an All-South Texas selection for Flour Bluff. While in Texas, she added three All-Tournament team selections, one All-Region honor and one All-District award before closing her senior year in Florida as a First Team All-Conference member.
The final two newcomers on the team to sign on ahead of the fall are freshmen
Faith Kucera (Victoria, Texas) and
Sammi Perez (Corpus Christi, Texas). Kucera prepped for Faith Academy as the team finished third in the state tournament as she was named TAPPS 2A All-Tournament, All-District, All-Area and All-State. Perez, meanwhile, played for Veterans Memorial High School in Corpus Christi and was a two-time All-District honoree to go with an All-South Texas and THSCA All-State honors.
Tip-off for the match against UAFS is set for 2 p.m. CT at the SPEC on December 11.
Watch your Javelinas live on the Mendoza's Pharmacy Javelina Sports Network. To keep up-to-date with Javelina Women's Basketball, follow the team on Facebook at /JavelinaWBB or on Twitter @Javelina_WBB
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