On Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Steinke Physical Education Center (SPEC), the Javelina women’s basketball team honored a pair of seniors in Cloe Lane (Kansas City, Missouri) and Kristina Kana (Mont Belvieu, Texas) on their annual Senior Day to conclude their home regular season slate against Western New Mexico in Lone Star Conference action.
Entering the contest, the match up was a very pivotal game in terms of Lone Star Conference seeding for the tournament in Frisco, Texas, in two weeks as both teams were fighting for the final spot in the tournament with nearly identical records. The Javelinas would get the early advantage in the first period on the visiting Mustangs from Silver City, N.M., led by plays from the honoree of the day Lane, Danielle Meador (Corpus Christi, Texas), Ravae Payne (Pearland, Texas) and Bri-Anna Soliz (San Angelo, Texas) as they would lead at the end of the first quarter, 17-12. Unfortunately for the blue and gold, the Mustangs would rally late in the 2nd quarter led by a buzzer beating three-point shot by Kassandra Vickery to give the away team a 32-27 lead heading into the break.
The Mustangs would pick up from where they left off at the ending of the 1st half in the 3rd quarter, as they’d outscore the Javelinas 16-9 to take a demanding 48-36 into the final quarter of the season at the SPEC. But, as they had done all season, the resilient blue and gold led by Wade Scott would make a late surge in the 4th quarter to narrow the deficit within 2 points on Senior Day after an emphatic 15-2 run over the last 2:58 of the game led by Kana and Rachel Tapps (Houston, Texas). After a pair of free throws to put the Mustangs up 3 at the SPEC from Sara Lopez, Lane would attempt a three-pointer to even the game in the final seconds, but would come up short as the Mustangs would prevail in triumph, 62-59, at the Hog Haven.
After the game, graduate assistant for the women’s basketball team, Meesha Wade shared her thoughts about the game.
“Western New Mexico is probably the toughest team in the league. We dug ourselves in a little hole, made a run late, but just ran out of time. We just have to prepare for the next two teams this upcoming week,” Meesha Wade said.
As a senior playing in her final game of the season at home in front of her family, Kana looked back on the home slate of games by sharing her favorite memory.
“My favorite memory at home is beating West Texas A&M. We beat the odds and that’s an awesome feeling,” she said.
The final stats for the game for the Javelinas included: Soliz with 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Tapps chipped in 10 points.
The Javelinas will finish their regular season on the road in Lawton, Okla., and Wichita Falls, Texas, against Cameron and Midwestern State University this upcoming week. A berth in the Lone Star Conference tournament is still within reach for the Javelinas, but they must win both games on the road, and hope for a loss from Western New Mexico as they finish their season against Texas A&M Commerce and Tarleton State.
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