KINGSVILLE, Texas – A career day on the court from Junior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) wasn't enough to spark a comeback on Thursday at the Steinke Physical Education Center as the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program fell 55-48 to St. Mary's in the Lone Star Conference rematch between the teams.

"[Anastacia] has been playing extremely well the last couple of weeks," said head coach Michael Madrid, "and has continued to grow and get better and that's exciting. However, it's sort of the same M.O. that we've had all year long. We played well enough defensively to win games but from an offensive standpoint we lack some firepower right now and that's what has been hurting us.

"We have a lot of turnovers and a lot of big possessions that we could take advantage of but we aren't, but it's an opportunity to get better tomorrow and we're looking forward to playing St. Edward's on Saturday."

Mickens' previous career-high was 15 accomplished twice on the year, first against tonight's foe on January 18 in San Antonio and the second last week against Cameron. She led the Javelinas (4-14, 3-13 LSC) on a blistering 66.7% shooting clip but her effort alone wasn't enough as the Rattlers (10-10, 9-7 LSC) ran ahead with the score in the second quarter and carried the momentum all the way to the final buzzer.

TAMUK struck first in the opening quarter and held an 8-4 lead by the 2:52 mark after freshman Maeghan Palmer (Midlothian, Texas) buried a pair of shots from the charity stripe. StMU quickly bounced back with two free throws from Mya Culiver along with a mid-range jumper from Hannah Wilson on the next possession to even the count at 8-8, but the and-one from Mickens ensured the hosts held the 11-8 edge going into the second after she completed the classic three-point play.

The visitors swung momentum their way early in the next stanza by scoring 13 of the first 16 points in the quarter for a 21-14 cushion and pushed the deficit into double digits shortly after when Wilson tacked on a pair at the line for a 28-17 lead with 3:18 to play.

Sophomore Bridget Upton (George West, Texas) ended the drought for the Javelinas with a trey at the 1:56 mark, while a layup from Mickens and a mid-range jumper from junior Daisah Purnell (Kansas City, Mo.) set the score at 30-24 going into the break.

TAMUK kept the score close throughout the third quarter when a jumper from Mickens late in the frame cut the lead to 37-33 just past the two-minute mark, officially moving her total to 16 on the evening for a new career-best. She tacked on seven more in the fourth but the Javelinas were unable to get the lead under five with the Rattlers up 52-47 with 1:37 to play and holding on for the 55-48 final.

Mickens' 23 points came on the heels of a 10-for-15 shooting performance on the floor as she added eight rebounds and two blocks to her total.

Upton finished with 12 points, the fifth time in the last six games she has gone over the 10-point mark, as she finished with  four rebounds and two assists to her name.

Palmer tacked on two points from the bench while Purnell added two of her own to end the day.

The Javelinas resume divisional action on Saturday, February 8, when they host St. Edward's at the SPEC starting at 2 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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