Denton - The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball team closed out its regular season on the road Saturday, falling to No. 1 Texas Woman's University 57-43 in Denton.
The Javelinas held the lead for just 29 seconds on the night but kept things competitive early before the Pioneers pulled away. TWU built a 22-point lead in the third quarter and never looked back, handing TAMUK a 14-point defeat to close the year.
"Extremely proud of how we finished the final 20 minutes," Head Coach
Michael Madrid said. "We certainly showed a lot of fight in the second half as compared to the first half. I thought early on in the first half, we defended well, but weren't aggressive offensively."
Freshman guard Jadeyn Perez was the offensive bright spot for the Javelinas, leading the team with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three, to go along with four rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes off the bench. That marked the eighth time that Perez had scored double digits in conference play in her first Collegiate year.
Redshirt junior guard
Kaycee Groves added eight points and six rebounds, while redshirt junior forward
Kaylee Howell chipped in seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Javelinas received 18 points from their bench unit overall.
The Javelinas trailed 12-5 after the first quarter, shooting just 20 percent from the field while committing six turnovers. TWU extended its lead to 31-14 at halftime behind a strong second quarter, outscoring TAMUK 19-9 in the frame. The Pioneers kept pushing the lead well into the third quarter before the Javelinas rallied in the fourth, outscoring TWU 20-12 to close out the contest.
"This has certainly been a year," Madrid said. "It will take a few days to really digest this season. Our defense overall kept us in games and we just didn't have enough offensive power. So much to build off this season. So many life lessons."
With the loss, the Javelinas close the books on their regular season, ending their schedule against one of the top programs in the country.
