KINGSVILLE, Texas - Facing the top-ranked team in the nation and the defending Division II National Champions, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball program was up to the task and turned in a thrilling 17-point upset win over No. 1/1 Lubbock Christian to close out the calendar year at the Steinke Physical Education Center.

MICHAEL MADRID POSTGAME INTERVIEW | JAYDE TSCHRITTER POSTGAME INTERVIEW

The Javelinas (7-4, 1-0 LSC) were up by as much as 22 late in the second half over the Lady Chaps (11-2, 0-1 LSC) and never trailed their foe en route to the final decision at 59-42. It is the first win over a ranked opponent in the tenure of head coach Michael Madrid, the first win ever in program history over the No. 1-ranked team in the country as well as the defending national champions, and almost three years to the date since the Blue and Gold toppled a team ranked inside the top-five of either the WBCA or D2SIDA National Poll.

The last win over a ranked opponent for the Javelinas came in the 2018-19 season with an 86-84 win over No. 2 West Texas A&M on January 10, also at the SPEC.

Sophomore Georgia Ohiaeri (Las Vegas, Nev.) started the scoring for TAMUK with a contested bucket in the paint at 8:25 in the opening quarter. She took the feed from freshman Mia Rivers (College Station, Texas) and found enough space past her defender to crack the egg on the scoreboard for the hosts.

LCU forced the first of two ties in the contest with a three-pointer from Channing Cunyus just past the six-minute mark, while Juliana Robertson's mid-range jumper following the media timeout gave the visitors their last tie of the game at 8-8.

Junior Brianna Pena (Weslaco, Texas) gave the Javelinas the lead for good as she drove the paint and buried the jumper at 4:07 that sparked a quick 7-0 run that culminated in a 40-foot heave from freshman Jayde Tschritter (Corpus Christi, Texas) with time expiring on the shot clock that set the score at 15-8 with two-plus minutes left in the first frame.

TAMUK carried a 15-11 lead into the second quarter and used a long-range shot from freshman Janessa Payne (Aledo, Texas) to push the cushion to double digits at 31-21 with 2:21 on the clock. The Lady Chaps added the last basket of the half from Laynee Burr with the hosts up 31-23 heading into the locker rooms.

Both sides had a slow start to the third stanza as LCU turned in the only basket in the first four minutes of the quarter on a fastbreak layup from Ashton Duncan at 8:06. TAMUK ended its scoring drought with a jumper from freshman Devon Williams (Gonzales, Texas) after the six-minute mark for a 33-25 advantage before Audrey Robertson drained the three-pointer ahead of the media timeout for a 33-28 score favoring the hosts.

Pena became the catalyst once again for the Blue and Gold as her jumper coming out of the break ignited a 12-2 run to close the quarter. She poured in four points of her own while sophomore Kryslyn Jones (Edmond, Okla.) added the remaining eight for a 45-30 lead heading into the final period.

TAMUK took eight of the first nine points of the fourth to balloon the lead to its largest margin at 53-31 with 7:39 remaining in the game. LCU cut into its deficit with the next nine points but never closed within 13 points of the lead as the Javelinas endured the push and held on for the decisive victory to open up the conference schedule.

Tschritter finished with a game-high 16 points on a 5-for-10 clip from the floor, 4-for-6 from long range, along with three rebounds and a steal.

Lost in all the celebration was Jones finishing with 10 points that pushed her career total to four digits. She picked up 942 as a member of the Seminole State women's basketball program and entered today's matchup with 998 before her trey late in the third quarter bumped her over the hill. She also finished with six rebounds, two steals and one assist.

Williams ended up matching her career-best with nine rebounds alongside eight points, two steals and a block. Rivers finished her day with six assists, her third game of the 2021-22 campaign with at least five assists.

As a team, the Javelinas turned in their best shooting performance of the season at 53.7% by going 22-for-41 from the field, including a blistering 46.7% from the perimeter on the heels of a 7-for-15 look.

The defensive effort held the Lady Chaps to their season-worst shooting percentage at 29.4% (15-for-51) from the floor and a minuscule 14.3% (4-for-28) from long range.

TAMUK snapped what was a 22-game conference winning streak for LCU, only its second loss in its last 48 contests. Lubbock Christian ended 2019-20 on a 12-game winning streak before the COVID-19 pandemic set in, returned in 2020-21 with a flawless 23-0 run for its national championship season, and started 2021-22 with an 11-1 record with the only blemish coming from a 64-56 loss to CSU-Pueblo on November 13.

The Blue and Gold handed the Lady Chaps its worst margin of defeat in over five years as the last time LCU lost by at least 17 came in the 2016-17 season on December 10 in a 90-63 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State. It is also the lowest output by a Lady Chap team in over a decade as the last time they were held to fewer than 42 points came on January 2, 2010, in a 94-40 loss to Oklahoma City University.

The Javelinas open up the 2022 portion of the schedule on Sunday, January 2, with a matchup against Eastern New Mexico beginning at 2 p.m. at the SPEC.

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