KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team won their first home game of 2023 on Thursday night, defeating the University of Arkansas Fort Smith 68-41.
"I thought we were clicking really well," said head coach Michael Madrid following the win. "I thought we did a lot of good things from an offensive standpoint as far as execution, finding the open person and knocking down shots... just collectively, I thought we played well. It was fun to see them as fun to see a lot of players get playing time."
The Javelinas (7-6, 4-3 LSC) were led by sophomore guard Jayde Tschritter who posted a career-high and team season high, 27-points on 10-18 shooting from the field, while grabbing six rebounds.
"She looked confident shooting the ball when it left her hand. She looked really confident," said Madrid. "Jayde is one of those players, to be completely honest, when the ball leaves her hands, I just think it's going in every single time."
Defensively, the Javs forced 16 Lions' (3-11, 1-7 LSC) turnovers while holding the Lions to just 13-54 shooting from the floor.
TAMUK also out rebounded UAFS 44-34 and dominated in the paint offensively scoring 26 to the Lions' 12.
Completing the overall dominant performance, the Javs shot 10-12 from the free throw line while the Lions only went 9-14.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Javelinas opened the game hot as Tschritter hit a corner three-pointer. Only a few minutes later, the Javs would go on a 7-0 run highlighted by another Tschritter three-pointer. Within the run TAMUK converted six free throws.
In total, the Javelinas went 10-12 from the free throw line while the Lions did not make it to the charity stripe in the quarter.
Disparity between the two teams only grew as TAMUK ended the quarter on a 9-0 run to end the quarter with the score at _-_
UAFS finally broke the scoring drought at the 8:07 mark of the quarter with their first free-throws of the game, but ran dry again until a layup by Truth Taylor with 1:20 left in the first half. In that time, the Javelinas went on an 11-0 run with Tschritter continuing to make plays including a tough left-handed and-one conversion at the basket.
Ball security was one of many issues for the Lions as they turned the ball over seven times while also being out rebounded 25-14 by the Javs that contributed to the score at the half reading 31-15 in favor of TAMUK.
The Javelinas continued to roll in the second half with back-to-back three-pointers courtesy of Tschritter and Janessa Payne to push the lead to twenty-two points at 39-15.
For UAFS the third quarter ended as one to forget, as the Lions only scored three points, while turning the ball over five times in the last six minutes of the quarter.
TAMUK's Mia Rivers closed out the quarter with a running jumper in the lane on the fast break as the quarter ended with the Javs up 48-18.
The Javelinas posted 20 more points in the fourth quarter to close out what ended as a 27-point victory with a final score of 68-41.
UP NEXT
The Javelinas now take on the Eagles of Oklahoma Christian in Steinke Physical Education Center on Saturday, at 1 p.m.
To keep up-to-date with Javelina Women's Basketball, follow the program on Facebook /JavelinaWBB or Twitter @Javelina_WBB. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network.
