KINGSVILLE, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program played cat-and-mouse with UT Permian Basin on Thursday at the Steinke Physical Education Center before pulling away late in the second half for a 61-53 win in the non-conference matchup

MICHAEL MADRID POSTGAME INTERVIEW | MIA CHERRY POSTGAME INTERVIEW

The Javelinas (5-2) stayed within striking distance of the Falcons (1-6) and used a handful of double-digit scoring runs to come away with the win in the non-conference matchup.

UTPB owned a 9-6 lead by the seven-minute mark of the opening frame before freshman Devon Williams (Gonzales, Texas) ignited an 11-0 Blue and Gold run on the second-chance bucket with 6:49 showing on the board. Classmates Janessa Payne (Aledo, Texas) and Jayde Tschritter (Corpus Christi, Texas) both dropped in shots, two from the former and one from the latter, for a 17-9 cushion with 3:38 remaining in the first.

The Falcons tacked on the final five point for a 17-14 score favoring the hosts going into the second as both sides traded leads in the quarter beginning with a layup from Alexus Quaadman with five minutes to spare for a 22-21 lead for the visitors.

Payne eventually knotted the score at 24-24 with another trey before UTPB took seven of the final 10 points to send the Javelinas to a 31-27 deficit at the break.

The Falcons extended their lead to 37-29 early in the third before another double-digit run from the Blue and Gold spurred on by a pair of freebies from junior Mia Cherry (Brock, Texas) at 7:43 gave TAMUK a 39-36 edge with 3:30 on the clock.

The Javelinas held a three-point edge going into the final stanza after junior Brianna Pena (Weslaco, Texas) dropped in the final points from the charity stripe to close out the third at 43-40. The Falcons narrowed the gap to two at 47-45 with 5:50 remaining in the game before an eight-point burst from TAMUK pushed the lead back to 55-45 at 1:48 as the Javelinas closed out the contest from the charity stripe en route to the final.

Cherry finished with a game-high 14 points on a 4-for-11 clip from the floor, adding four rebounds, one assist and a steal in the process. She was one of four Javelinas to finish with double digit points, the second time this year TAMUK had at least four members score at least 10 points.

Tschritter added 13 points to the total along with two rebounds and a pair of helpers, her fourth game of the season scoring in double figures.

Payne added 12 to the count, while Pena poured in 10, as both finished with three rebounds while Pena added six assists.

The Javelinas remain at home this weekend to host Angelo State on Saturday, December 4, with tipoff at 2 p.m. for Deck the SPEC at the Steinke Physical Education Center.  

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