CANYON, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program made another second-half push against No. 15 West Texas A&M on Saturday at the First United Bank Center but ended up on the backend of the Lone Star Conference decision by a final score of 71-50.
"I thought WT did a tremendous job of controlling the game and forcing us into poor decisions," said head coach
Michael Madrid. "Mentally, we did not show up ready to play and they punished us for that. That's what good teams do.
"I'm proud of our effort coming out of halftime. Our team will learn from this experience throughout the week and prepare for our next opponent."
The Javelinas (4-6, 4-6 LSC) buried 23 points in the third quarter and trimmed a double-digit deficit to nine points but the Lady Buffs (8-1, 7-1 LSC) endured the rally to hold on to the win.
Junior
Brianna Pena (Weslaco, Texas) put away 17 points in the game on a 6-for-12 clip, all in the second half, to go with four assists and a steal. Freshman
Janessa Payne (Aledo, Texas) added 10 points and eight rebounds while going 4-for-5 from the field.
Classmate
Jayde Tschritter (Corpus Christi, Texas) rounded out the trio with nine points on three shots from beyond the arc coupled with one assist.
TAMUK was mired in a scoring drought to start the contest as WT opened with a 17-2 cushion just past the first media timeout. Tschritter ended the dearth with a trey at the 4:08 mark and tacked on another at the buzzer for a 21-8 deficit going into the second.
Freshman
Devon Williams (Gonzales, Texas) started the scoring for the Javelinas in the following frame with a feed from Pena, but the Lady Buffs quickly ballooned their advantage to 29-10 before Payne ended the run with a pair of triples by the 4:26 mark. WT added a handful of buckets after that point for a 33-16 score at the break.
Both sides traded shots at the beginning of the third with the hosts up 43-24 just after the media timeout. A midrange jumper from freshman
Mia Rivers (College Station, Texas) sparked a 15-6 run that featured two more for her from the stripe, eight points from Pena, and three from Dominguez for a 49-39 deficit with a minute remaining.
WT carried a 51-39 lead heading into the fourth and TAMUK whittled the deficit down to nine off a three-ball from Pena at 6:34 that made the score 55-46. The Lady Buffs stymied the Javelinas the rest of the way, however, and ended up closing the contest on a 16-4 run to take the decision.
The Javelinas return home next week for two contests against Cameron starting on January 29 at the Steinke Physical Education 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
######
