SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Texas A&M-Kingsville's women's basketball team won their final game of 2022, defeating St. Mary's, 60-53 on Friday afternoon.
The Javelinas (6-5, 3-2 LSC) got the win over the Rattlers (5-6, 1-4 LSC) in large part due to a strong defensive performance which saw TAMUK hold their opponents a mere 33.9% field goal percentage including only going 3-18 from beyond the arc.
"I thought defensively when we were focused and concentrating, we had good possessions," said head coach Michael Madrid. "It helps that shots didn't fall for St Mary's. We are working to be a better defensive team. Today was a solid step forward."
Offensively, TAMUK was led by sophomore forward Veyda Lake who posted a team-high 13 points in the win. Brianna Pena followed in kind posting 11 points with Mia Rivers and Jayde Tschritter both finishing the night with 8 total points.
"Veyda had a great day for us," said Madrid. "Probably should have gone to her more at times. She is able to score in a variety of ways with her back to the basket. Hoping this gives her more confidence moving forward. She is an important piece to our puzzle."
The Javelinas came out firing in the first quarter, starting the game with a 7-0 run. The shooting hands would stay hot as Pena posted 8 of her 11 total points in the quarter. As a team the Javs shot 11-19 from the field while also going 6-8 from three-point range.
After outscoring the Rattlers 28-17 in the first quarter, things would settle down in the second quarter with the Javelinas only going 3-13 from the field shooting.
The second half would be back and forth between the two teams with several lead changes throughout the third quarter. Late in the third though the Javelinas would go on a 7-0 run to end the quarter and take a 46-39 advantage.
Another 5-0 run in the fourth quarter sparked by a Pena floater on a fast break saw the Javelinas take a commanding 55-43 lead with four minutes remaining. From there, the Javelinas would cruise the rest of the way to win their final game of the calendar year.
UP NEXT
Now the Javelinas will travel to Austin to take on the Hilltoppers of St. Edward's on New Year's Day at 1 p.m.
Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network. To keep up-to-date with Javelina Women's Basketball, follow the program on Facebook /JavelinaWBB or Twitter @Javelina_WBB
