Kingsville - In its first game at home after four straight on the road, the Texas A&M - Kingsville women's basketball team will host the Mustangs from Midwestern State in a 5:30 p.m. Thursday matchup with massive Lone Star Conference tournament implications.

The Javelinas are currently seventh in the conference with an 11-8 record in LSC play, with Midwestern just one game behind them, needing a win to jump into a conference tournament spot. With three games left on their regular season docket, the Javelinas are just one game from the fourth seed in the tournament while also being just one game from missing the tournament entirely.

"We will approach this game the same we do every other game," Head Coach Michael Madrid said. "However, it's February and that means everyone is playing their best so we need to bring energy and match energy. MSU is a solid team and has played well throughout the season. We have another opportunity to get better."

TAMUK is looking to respond after a pair of losses on the road last weekend, when the team visited No.6 UT-Tyler and No.2 Texas Woman's. It will be looking to get back in the win column against a team that is bringing momentum into the SPEC from a win over Angelo State, who's currently slotted in the five spot of the LSC tournament.

MSU is carried by a senior forward who has been nothing short of spectacular in her final season of collegiate basketball. Zarria Carter leads the conference in both scoring and rebounds, putting up an average of 20.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. She does that while shooting 54.2 percent from the field, the third-best mark in the LSC, and is also eighth in the conference in blocks. Carter is not only one of the best post players in the LSC, but in the whole nation. Her 15 double-doubles are the third-most in D2, while her scoring and rebounding averages are 10th- and 11th-best in the nation respectively.

"I don't know how she doesn't win conference MVP," Madrid said. "She is averaging a double-double, shows up to work every day and puts her team on her shoulders. It will definitely be tough matching up against her."

On the whole, MSU is second in the LSC in combined team rebounds, bringing down 41.8 per game, while also forcing opponents to turn the ball over 18.2 times per game, the fifth-most in the conference.

While it's caused them some issues in recent games, turning the ball over hasn't been an issue for the Javelinas this year, as they rank fifth in the LSC in both fewest turnovers and assist-to-turnover ratio. 

"We have to be better decision makers," Madrid said. "We cause ourselves so much trouble with poor decision-making. That along with defensive rebounding will be critical and indicators of how the game is going."

Once more Kingsville will lean on its calling card: defense. The team holds opponents to 54.6 points per game on average, the 17th-fewest in the nation. Those same opponents shoot 37.2% from the field when they play TAMUK, the sixth-best opposing percentage in the conference.

After Thursday's Throwback Night matchup with Midwestern, they will have a tight turnover before a 1 p.m. Saturday showdown with No.12 Lubbock Christian on Senior Night, where Abby Bala, Veyda Lake, and Janessa Payne will all play their final Saturday game in the SPEC.