KINGSVILLE, Texas - A pair of free throws in the final minute of the fourth quarter set a new career-high for senior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) who finished with 24 in a 66-56 win for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program over Western Oregon on Wednesday at the Steinke Physical Education Center.
ANASTACIA MICKENS POSTGAME INTERVIEW | MICHAEL MADRID POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Mickens led the Javelinas (3-1) while shooting 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, to go with a 7-for-8 mark at the charity stripe. She added eight rebounds, four steals and a block as the Blue and Gold defensive effort held the Wolves (3-2) to a minuscule 4.5% clip from the perimeter on the day en route to the decision.
A pair of ties punctuated the opening frame as a layup from Meadow Aragon knotted the contest at seven apiece with 7:28 showing on the clock. A mid-range jumper from junior Mia Cherry (Brock, Texas) gave TAMUK the lead for good as Mickens, sophomore Kryslyn Jones (Edmond, Okla.) and freshman Mia Rivers (College Station, Texas) all contributed to the 16-10 Javelina advantage after 10 minutes.
The Blue and Gold pushed their lead to double digits early in the second after Cherry took the feed from Mickens on the steal at midcourt for a 21-10 cushion by the 8:44 mark. The Wolves cut the lead down to eight on four separate occasions through the remainder of the stanza, but each attempt to reduce it further was met by a bucket from the hosts.
Sophomore Georgia Ohiaeri (Las Vegas, Nev.) was the final say in the frame as she dropped a layup on a feed from Jones for a 31-21 score favoring the Javelinas heading into the locker rooms. Mickens had 11 of her 24 points in the first half as she made all three of her shots in the opening half and was perfect in four attempts from the line.
Meanwhile, the defensive look from the Blue and Gold held WOU to 1-for-15 from long range in the first 20 minutes of the game.
The Wolves came out of the break with six straight points that trimmed the lead to 31-27 by the 7:54 mark before a pair of free throws from Jones and the classic three-point play from Mickens put a stop to the run. A trey from Mickens later in the frame, coupled with a handful of free throws from Cherry and Jones, pushed the Javelinas to their largest lead of the day at 45-31 with 2:45 remaining in the third.
A 12-point cushion at the start of the fourth was quickly reduced to five by the six-minute mark on a fast break basket from Cali McClave, but Jones and Rivers teamed up to keep the visitors at arms' length with a pair of buckets in the paint and a 54-45 lead at the final media timeout.
WOU cut its deficit to three with a driving layup from Ana McClave with 2:04 left in the game that set the score at 58-55 in favor of TAMUK, but a shot from Jones squelched all hope for a comeback as the Javelinas closed out the contest from the line en route to the win.
The 24 points from Mickens surpassed her previous career-high of 23 that came in a 55-48 defeat at the hands of Lone Star Conference foe St. Mary's on February 6, 2020. That contest also saw Mickens establish a new personal-best of 10 field goals made in a game.
Jones collected her first outing of the year scoring in double figures as she finished with 13 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Rivers added nine points to the effort along with three helpers, while Cherry rounded out the quartet with eight points and six boards.
The Javelinas now turn their attention to their trip to San Antonio for the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic at the Bill Greehey Arena. The Blue and Gold will first face Minnesota State on Friday, November 26, with tipoff at 2 p.m. CT followed by a contest against East Central on Saturday, November 27, beginning at 2 p.m. CT.
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