BILLINGS, Montana- The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team was up early Saturday morning as they tipped off day two of the Division II CCA Tip Off Tournament having the first game of the day facing the number five ranked Tampa Spartans. The Javelinas and Spartans put on a show in Billings, Montana as it was a tight matchup throughout with the Spartans coming away with it at the last second 60-58.
"Proud of our effort this morning." said coach
Michael Madrid. "We could have easily folded a couple of times and we fought hard to give ourselves an opportunity at the end. That was a quick turnaround and our players locked into the scout and executed what we asked them to do defensively. I thought we settled in a little bit better offensively and got back to who we are as a program. Most importantly we took a step forward in this journey of a season. Look forward to our next opportunity tomorrow".
Sophomore
Shelby Ray was the shining star for the Javelinas in this one as she left the day recording 18 points and two rebounds, shooting 71.4 percent from beyond the arc. Junior
Mia Rivers also played a factor in this one as she was a rebound and an assist away from a triple double, having 13 points on 9 assists and 9 rebounds.
TAMUK looked more like themselves this game as they shot 33.9% from the field and 44.8% from the three-point line, improving both percentages from the last time out. Their defensive production was top notch as expected, crashing the boards having 37 total rebounds, out rebounding the Spartans on the day and only allowing 6 second chance points.
The Javelinas took a bit to adjust to the Montana morning as the Spartans took an early 7-0 lead before the Javelinas got some points on the board with a
Mia Rivers layup at the 6:15 mark in the quarter. Junior sharpshooter
Jayde Tschritter then got things going from beyond the arc at the 5:42 mark as the remainder of the points from the first for the Javelinas came from beyond the arc, ending the first quarter Tampa up 18-11.
The second quarter was the
Shelby Ray show as she scored 12 points on three from long range, a layup and a free throw, accounting for all Javelina points other than an
Abby Bala free throw and a
Georgia Ohiaeri layup. This scoring barrage helped the Javelinas take the lead twice in the quarter while also allowing them to go into the half down only two after an exchange of layups under the thirty second mark left the game 28-26 at the half.
The Javelinas came out of the half and took an early third quarter lead 29-28 after rivers goes 1-2 from the charity stripe and
Veyda Lake sinks a layup in the paint. With the score 29-28 Javelinas in front, the Spartans take off on a 7-0 run making it a 36-29 game with 6:25 left to go in the third. The Spartans would go up as many as 12 in the third before Ray drains two consecutive three balls sending it to the fourth scored 48-42.
The Fourth saw both squads battle back and forth until the 4:02 mark in the game where Ohiaeri drained a crucial three putting the Javelinas within two 3:27. A three from Tampa increased the Spartan lead to 5 before a
Janessa Payne three knotted things up at 58 with 1:44 to go in the game. A Spartan layup with 1:13 to go was the final score of the game ending the contest 60-58.
The Javelinas are back out in Montana for the last of the Division II CCA Tip Off Tournament, game three will see them faced against the #2 ranked Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks at 2 PM CT.
Follow the Javelinas all season long by visiting javelinaathletics.com to find links to live stats and streaming information as well as a recap at the end of each contest. 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.
Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores and updates of your favorite Javelinas
