Kingsville - Sitting on a 5-2 start to its season and a 1-0 record in conference play, the Kingsville women's basketball team is headed to San Angelo for a date with the Rams to begin the Javelinas' full slate of Lone Star Conference games.

Though the team already has a win over Texas A&M - International, an in-conference foe, under its belt, the matchup was squeezed between non-conference games and only now - with a pair or road contests - does the Javelinas' LSC slate truly begin. 

"We don't necessarily have a different approach or put more weight on one game than another," Head Coach Michael Madrid said. "Our focus will be to continue to play good Javelina basketball. Control what we can control on both ends of the floor and go 1-0 each day moving forward."

Kingsville will look to "go 1-0" against ASU and double its Lone Star win total as it heads to San Angelo for a Thursday matchups. It'll then travel to Odessa for a game against UT - Permian Basin on Saturday afternoon.

The Javelinas will bring some momentum into their Thursday matchup, as they grabbed a historic win the last time they hit the hardwood. Last Saturday, the team beat Shippensburg by 14 points and, in the process, held the Raiders to the lowest opposing point total allowed by TAMUK in nearly half a decade. Shippensburg scored just 38 points, Kingsville hadn't held an opponent to that or less since January 9th of 2020. 

Overall, Kingsville has certainly leaned on its defense to start the year. On average, the team holds opponents to 51.6 points per game, the 22nd-best number in the country. It pairs that with smart offensive basketball, committing the 26th-fewest turnovers in the nation, with just 13.6 per game.

TAMUK's first opponent of the weekend, however, will be more than willing to meet the team where it is, and make the game into a defensive slugfest. The Rams hold opponents to 32.9% shooting from the field and 22.7% from three, both are the second-best numbers in the LSC.

"We need to execute offensively," Madrid said. "Be patient and take what the defense gives us. Play smarter and make solid decisions with the ball."

Putting in work on the glass will certainly be another key to the game, as ASU ranks in the top three in the conference in total team rebounds while TAMUK ranks in the bottom three.

"Put a body on a body and make sure defensively all five players are rebounding," Madrid said. "We aren't good enough to not block out and they are a solid rebounding team so we will have our work cut out for us."

The team is seeking a 2-0 start to conference play for the second time since '08-'09.