Frisco - On Thursday at noon, the Texas A&M - Kingsville women's basketball team will be playing the UT-Tyler Patriots for the third time this season, this time a bid to the Lone Star Conference Tournament Semi-finals will be on the line.
The Javelinas are the No.6 seed in the tournament facing off against the No.3 seed Patriots, who got the best of TAMUK both times that the two met during the regular season.
"We worked extremely hard to get to this point in the season and, like everyone else, we want to play well," Head Coach
Michael Madrid. "I know our players are looking forward to the opportunity."
Kingsville's first matchup with Tyler, when the team was ranked No.10 in the nation, was decided by just two points. The game went back-and-forth down the stretch with the Javelinas using balanced scoring to answer UTT buckets late in the game. Clutch stops late from the Patriots, however, gave them the win, 63-61.
The second matchup took the Javelinas on the road, where they fell by seven, 61-54, to the Patriots, who were then ranked No.6. Redshirt sophomore forward
Kaycee Groves led the team in that game, notching a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. Despite the loss, Kingsville's defense shined in that contest, as the team held UTT to just 35.1% shooting from the field.
"At this point in the season we all know each other extremely well," Madrid said. "There won't be any surprises. Post season comes down to execution. We need to be as good as we've been defensively throughout the year and then offensively we need to play at a high level and take advantage of opportunities."
All season long, defense has led the way for Tyler, as they boast one of the best crews in the nation on that end of the floor. The team allows opponents to score 52.1 points per game, the seventh-fewest in the nation. It also holds opponents to the fifth- and 11th-lowest field goal and three-point percentages respectively in the nation. The Patriots are led by junior guard Meagan Mendazona, who averages 13.9 points per game - the eighth-most in the conference - as well as 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 steals. Also averaging double figures in scoring for them is senior forward Ella Bradley, who adds 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.
Kingsville has balanced an offense-by-committee approach with hard-nosed defense to earn its spot in the Tournament. As a team, the Javelinas hold opponents to 55.1 points per game, the fourth-fewest in the LSC. Offensively, they are third in both field-goal and three-point percentage in the LSC, pairing that excellent efficiency with the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio.
Junior forward
Shelby Ray leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, tallying 11.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward
Janessa Payne adds 8.1 points while shooting one of the best three-point percentages in the conference. Senior
Abby Bala and junior
Aina Maynou lock down the point guard position, with both ranking top six in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and top 10 in assists per game.
Round three of the Javelinas VS the Patriots will tip off at 12pm central on Thursday in the Comerica Center with a matchup against either Lubbock Christian of West Texas in a Saturday semi-finals game on the line.
2025 LSC Women's Basketball Awards Banquet (7 p.m. CT):
https://flosports.link/41h37Zd
