KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball saw a lead erased in the early goings of the second quarter on Saturday at the Steinke Physical Education Center as Texas A&M International came away with a 56-48 decision on Throwback Weekend in Lone Star Conference action.

"I thought the biggest thing was we let their defensive pressure dictate the game," said head coach Michael Madrid. "They threw some punches at us and we didn't really punch back. I thought from a defensive standpoint we did a good job of staying in the game to give us a chance to win it at the end but need to value the ball better and make better decisions.

"We also need to knock down some shots and missing free throws didn't help, but I'm proud of our effort and I'm looking forward to next week."

The Javelinas (4-16, 3-15 LSC) owned the momentum in the opening quarter with redshirt sophomore Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) putting away the first basket of the day at the 8:35 mark. Nicole Heyn poured in a trey on the next possession for the Dustdevils (9-15, 6-12 LSC) while juniors Daisah Purnell (Kansas City, Mo.) and Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) put the host back ahead at 6-3 shortly after.

TAMUK kept the pace going off a mid-range jumper from freshman Madison Lucas (Houston, Texas) just after the media timeout but missed the and-one from the stripe as the Blue and Gold settled for an 8-5 cushion. Heyn tacked on another long-range shot to even the count at 8-8, but a bucket from the stripe for Soliz, followed by another two freebies from junior Treazure Mouton (Houston, Texas), put the Javelinas up 11-8 going into the second.

TAMIU opened the following frame with an 8-1 run that erased the deficit and set the score at 16-12 with 7:29 remaining in the half, forcing the hosts to play catch-up from there on out. Soliz added a layup with 6:02 showing on the clock before the visitors put away 10 straight points for a 26-14 advantage late in the quarter.

The Javelinas inched closer with four straight points in the final minute before another three-ball from Heyn set the score at 29-18 going into the locker rooms. The gap was quickly trimmed back down to single digits coming out of the break as Mouton sparked an 8-0 run over the course of two minutes that set the score at 31-26 with 6:12 on the clock.

Both sides went through a drought four-plus minutes of game time with a free throw from Lucas and a layup from Josselin Geer serving as the only points on either side. TAMIU added three free throws late in the third while Mickens ended the drought for the hosts with a layup in the final minute, ahead of a layup from sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) to put the hosts at 31 on the scoreboard.

Her and-one shot fell off the mark and the opportunity was quickly converted into a bucket for the Dustdevils after Heyn grabbed the loose ball and gave it to Patrycja Jaworska who capped the fast break with a layup for a 40-31 lead going into the fourth.

Both sides traded baskets throughout the majority of the final frame as TAMUK couldn't get trim the deficit past eight points until Upton's fastbreak jumper at the 1:04 mark. The 52-46 lead favoring TAMIU was quickly padded back to eight points on a pair of free throws from Jaden Gonzales before eight side tacked on two more for the 56-48 final.

Mickens led the Javelinas with 14 points and seven rebounds alongside four steals. Lucas, meanwhile, recorded a new career-high with 12 points as she added three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Upton added 10 points to her total, only the fourth time in 2019-20 the team had at least three scorers in double figures and second straight following the loss to St. Edward's last week.

The Javelinas will head back out on the road one more time in the regular season as they visit Angelo State starting on February 20 for tip off at 5:30 p.m. CT at the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center.

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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