Kingsville - With Christmas break in the rear-view, the Texas A&M - Kingsville women's basketball team is set to get the new calendar year underway with a road Lone Star Conference matchup when it heads to San Antonio for a 5:30 p.m. game against St. Mary's.

The Javelinas had lost three of their final four LSC matchups to finish 2024, and will look to bounce back against the Rattlers, who lost back-to-back games heading into the break.

"We love this time of the year," Head Coach Michael Madrid said. "The break allows us to reset physically and mentally. We have had excellent practices and we are excited about the opportunity to get better each day moving forward."


Despite the rough stretch before the break, Kingsville still holds an above-.500 record, sitting at 6-5 overall on the season. Through those 11 games, the team has been one of the most efficient scoring squads in the conference. The Javelinas shoot the third-best percentage in the conference both from the floor and behind the three-point line.

Shooting the ball was not the only thing that the Javelinas excelled at in the first half of the season. They also boast the 40th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation (second in the conference), while also committing fewer than 14 turnovers per game - the second-fewest in the LSC and tied for the 33rd-fewest in the country.

Their opponents, the Rattlers, have been great on the inside defensively. They lead the conference in team blocked-shots, denying 4.7 shots per game. They're also the second-best defensive rebounding team in the LSC, and third-best in total rebound margin.

"St. Mary's is a well-coached team with tremendous players," Madrid said. "Our focus will always be our execution on both ends of the floor and giving our best effort but most importantly enjoying what we do with the people we do it with."

Freshman forward Christin Callens has had a stellar start to her collegiate career for St. Mary's. She averages more than 15 points per game as well as 5.8 rebounds on 51.9% shooting from the field. Her scoring and FG% are fifth- and fourth-best in the LSC respectively. Leading the way for their amazing interior defense is another freshman forward, Raynne Malik, who leads the conference with 2.1 blocks per game. Junior guard Imani Ivery is fourth in the conference with 1.4.

This will be Kingsville's first in a pair of road games this weekend, as they will face St. Edwards in Austin on Sunday at 1 p.m.. Following this weekend, they'll be back in Kingsville where they host four-straight home games which feature three teams who are above .500 on the season so far.