LUBBOCK, Texas – Facing the defending national champions on their home court, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program suffered a loss to No. 8/14 Lubbock Christian on Saturday at the Rip Griffin Center in Lone Star Conference action to close out the road portion of the 2019-20 schedule at 71-29.

"I thought LCU did a great job of attack us in a variety of ways," said head coach Michael Madrid, "and we didn't match their intensity on either end of the floor today.

"There is a reason they are at the top of the conference standings. We need to be more consistent with defensively and knock down shots."

The Javelinas (4-18, 3-17 LSC) owned an early edge on the Lady Chaps (23-3, 17-3 LSC) in the first quarter, but a 21-0 run for the hosts put the momentum squarely in their possession en route to the decision.

Sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) knocked down a trey to start the scoring for the visitors in the opening frame. Classmate Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) tacked on a pair of free throws shortly after, along with a mid-range jumper at the 7:51 mark, to give TAMUK a 7-4 lead before Emma Middleton ignited the run with a driving layup on the next possession down the court.

By the time the dust had settled, the Javelinas faced a 25-7 deficit in the final seconds of the first before junior Treazure Mouton (Houston, Texas) poured in a layup to close out the stanza.

The Lady Chaps converted the cushion into a 45-17 advantage at the half after the next 10 minutes of game time. Junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) posted two shots from the stripe to start the second before Mouton added a classic three-point play at the 5:11 mark to set the score at 38-17.

The gap eventually grew throughout the second half en route to the 71-29 final. Soliz posted six points in the fourth before a trey from Upton went in as the final basket for TAMUK.

Soliz finished with 10 points and six rebounds along with two steals. Upton added six points and matched Soliz with six rebounds.

The Javelinas wrap up the season next week as they host Texas Woman's starting on Thursday, February 27, at the Steinke Physical Education Center starting at 5:30 p.m. for the Faculty Appreciation game.

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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