KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program was locked in a defensive struggle on Thursday with Texas Woman's at the Steinke Physical Education Center and suffered a setback at 42-35 to start the final week of Lone Star Conference action.

"I thought, from a defensive standpoint, we continued to do the things we needed to do," said head coach Michael Madrid. "We got stops at critical moments and put ourselves in a position to win the game.

"From an offensive standpoint, I thought we were stale. We missed a lot of shots and the difference in the game was our offensive inefficiency."

The Javelinas (4-19, 3-18 LSC) were neck-and-neck with the Pioneers (10-15, 8-13 LSC) in the fourth quarter before the visitors inched ahead in the final minutes to take the win.

TWU owned an early 9-0 lead in the first as TAMUK put away its first field goal at the 3:24 mark courtesy of a three-pointer from freshman Madison Lucas (Houston, Texas). Sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) tacked on another trey a minute later but the Pioneers owned the edge at 15-6 heading into the second.

The Javelinas still faced a nine-point deficit midway through the frame at 19-10 after Sadie Moyer put away a pair from the charity stripe with 5:44 remaining, but a quick six-point burst from redshirt sophomore Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) and junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas), while Upton capped the scoring with a three-ball with 3:09 showing on the clock and a 19-16 score favoring the visitors.

The Pioneers quickly pushed the lead back to seven as Madyson Johnson set the line score at 23-16 going into the locker rooms with two more from the line in the closing seconds.

The defensive clamps came down from TAMUK in the third as TWU managed only one made field goal in the frame on a mid-range jumper from Kam Daily with 29 seconds remaining. Meanwhile, the Javelina offense got to work and tied the game on a jumper from freshman Maeghan Palmer (Midlothian, Texas) on the possession before Daily's bucket.

The 27-25 score favoring the visitors coming out of the third was erased once again as Palmer put away a pair from the line and both sides resorted to trading baskets over the next four minutes en route to a 31-31 tie just ahead of the media timeout.

TWU came out of the break with a pair of jumpers from Ma'K'La Woods that push the gap back to four with a 35-31 score lighting up the boards with 3:10 remaining in the game. Woods added another point from the line with 1:48 showing as TAMUK shifted the focus to the charity stripe.

Palmer ended up with four more points off free throws but the Javelinas couldn't make a dent in the deficit as the Pioneers ended up with the decision at 42-35.

Soliz finished one point shy of a double-double as she posted nine points and 14 rebounds in the contest. The 14 boards is a new season-high and were the most for the San Angelo, Texas, native since she grabbed her career-high 17 in a 78-71 road win over UT Permian Basin on January 19, 2019.

Upton added eight from the starting lineup to go with six rebounds. Palmer led the bench by matching her season-high of eight points alongside four rebounds.

The Javelinas will close their first season under the direction of Madrid on Saturday, February 29, when they host Tarleton for Senior Day at the SPEC starting at 2 p.m. CT. The senior duo of Angelica Wall (Pueblo, Colo.) and Lidia Guiral (Fraga, Spain) will be honored at halftime of the men's game slated to start at 4 p.m. CT.

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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