Odessa - In its first road Lone Star Conference game of the season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team fell, 67-54, to the University of Texas Permian Basin Falcons in Odessa.
The Javelinas got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 10-2 lead over UTPB, but gave up 24 points in the second quarter and turned the ball over 21 times as the team moved to 0-3 in LSC play.
"We started well and struggled to make shots and turnovers continue to plague us," Head Coach
Michael Madrid said. "We didn't defend very well tonight either."
After that leap out of the gates, which featured a three from redshirt forward
Kaycee Groves and five straight points from sophomore forward
Thalia Daniels, the team went cold offensively, going the final 2:56 of the first frame without a bucket. The team's defense, however, stepped up in a big way, keeping the score close until the offense warmed back up in the second to the tune of a 7-of-12 shooting performance to close out the half. Big buckets from a number of Javelinas, including a four-point possession from freshman forward
Justine Aguilar, allowed Kingsville to keep it close at the break.
The run that the Falcons' offense had started in the waning moments of the second quarter continued into the second half, as the team out-scored the Javelinas by six in the third frame, growing itself a lead that it would not relinquish, despite a late run from the road team.
Aguilar put together a strong game for Kingsville, notching a new career high with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting to pace the team. She added five rebounds, an assist, and a pair of steals.
"Justine scored well for us and played hard," Madrid said. "Now it's about consistency for her and growing as a player."
Daniels and freshman guard
Ava Mitchell each added seven points on a combined 6-of-13 shooting, while Groves, sophomore guard
Addisyn Parker, and redshirt freshman
Caitlyn Benally added six a-piece. Benally and Groves each collected four rebounds, and redshirt junior forward
Kaylee Howell, who made the first start of her career in the blue and gold, tied Aguilar for the team high with five rebounds.
TAMUK's next regular season contest will come next weekend in Las Vegas, NV, at the D2 Holiday Hoops Classic, when the team takes on RV Daemon (Saturday, 11:00 a.m. CT), and Tampa (Sunday, 11:00 a.m. CT). Before then, however, the Javelinas will head to UT-San Antonio for a Monday morning (11:00 a.m.) exhibition contest.
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