CANYON, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program sprinted out of the gates to start the second half against No. 15 West Texas A&M on Friday at the First United Bank Center but saw the momentum slip away in the Lone Star Conference matchup en route to the loss at 74-65.

"We continue to get better day in and day out," said head coach Michael Madrid. " We will continue to work on our defensive concentration and offensive execution.

"Our team plays so hard and they're starting to figure it out. We are looking forward to putting together four solid quarters in the near future."

The Javelinas (4-5, 4-5 LSC) put away the first 11 points of the second half but couldn't maintain momentum as the 15th-ranked Lady Buffs (7-1, 6-1 LSC) ended the third on a 23-5 run and held on to the cushion throughout the fourth to come away with the decision.

Junior transfer Brianna Pena (Weslaco, Texas) paced the Blue and Gold on the floor with a new season-high 21 points on a 9-for-13 clip. She added three rebounds to her total as she recorded her team-leading eighth game scoring in double figures.

Freshman Mia Rivers (College Station, Texas) poured in 10 points off the bench alongside four assists and one rebound. Meanwhile, senior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) took home nine points and a team-high five rebounds in the loss.

The hosts took over the lead early in the game with a 10-7 cushion by the first media timeout. Pena took control right after the break as her driving layup at the 4:05 mark sparked a 12-4 run to close the half. She tacked on a trey to her total, got five points from freshman Annelise Dominguez (El Paso, Texas), and had a midrange jumper from Rivers that closed the frame for a 19-14 advantage heading into the second.

Rivers and Pena teamed up at the start of the following frame for a 25-17 lead, the former putting away four from the stripe as the latter poured in a three. WT made a run from there and forced a handful of ties before owning a 38-34 cushion at halftime.

The Javelinas sprinted out of the gate to start the third as freshman Veyda Lake (Houston, Texas) got the and-one call to ignite the 11-0 burst. The Lady Buffs battled right back after calling a timeout and took 14 of the next 17 points for a 52-48 advantage and ended up closing the quarter on a 9-0 run to put the visitors in a 61-50 deficit heading into the fourth.

WT kept the lead in double digits through most of the final stanza despite TAMUK closing to 69-61 by the 4:28 mark on an 8-2 run. A quick timeout from the hosts shortly after nixed any hope of a comeback as they put up the next five points to clinch the win.

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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