Kingsville - Facing its second top-10-ranked foe in as many games, the Texas A&M - Kingsville women's basketball team fought till the end, and fell to the UT-Tyler Patriots, 63-61, on Saturday.
Despite not only shooting better percentages from both the field and behind the three-point line, but also winning the rebound battle against the visitors from Tyler, Kingsville lost in a back-and-forth battle. The team now sits at 10-7 overall with a 6-5 record in conference play.
"I though we had a lot more energy, we had more spunk," Head Coach
Michael Madrid said. "What a great D2 college basketball game. I thought it was really intense, matching shot-for-shot, things like that."
UTT entered the day top 10 in the nation in scoring defense, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent three-point percentage. After shooting 4-of-12 from the field in the first frame, Kingsville shot 44% or better in each of the last three quarters. Overall, the Javelinas shot 52.3% from the field and 38.9% from distance. They have now scored 60 or more in three of their last four games.
"I told them in our huddle after the game - they may not realize this, but this game will help us later on down the road," Madrid said. "Really proud of our effort and everybody that stepped on the floor today."
Redshirt sophomore
Kaycee Groves led the team in scoring, fighting through foul trouble to drop 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, adding four rebounds, an assists, a block, and a steal. Three other Javelinas scored at least eight points, led by senior
Veyda Lake who had 10 on 4-of-5 shooting.
The game started as a defensive battle, with topping 30 points by halftime. Kingsville battled with Tyler, turning strong defense into trips to the free-throw line, and held a one-point edge at half. Through the first 20 minutes, the team held the Patriots to 25% shooting from distance.
Both offenses opened up more in the second half, with the two squads trading buckets in a game that featured nine lead changes. Ultimately, Kingsville either had the lead or was tied with Tyler for just under 15 minutes. Neither team ever led by more than six points, and each always seemed to have an answer for the other.
"To me, that was kind of like a postseason type of game," Madrid said. "You get in the postseason and every possession is important. You have to value every possession offensively and defensively. You have some slippage in two or three possessions, all of a sudden, the lead could get to six points, and that six point lead feels like a 12-point lead."
Kingsville will now head on the road to play against Western New Mexico and Sul Ross St. on Thursday and Saturday respectively before returning home for Pack the House night on January 30th at 5:30 p.m..
