Despite a strong first half, the TAMUK women’s basketball team fell 78-52 to the Hilltoppers of St. Edward’s University.
St. Edwards captured the momentum early, blasting off on a 12-point run. 10 of those points came off the hand of guard Charli Becker.
18 seconds after Becker hit her last bucket of the run, redshirt senior Angelica Wall put the Javelinas on the board. Wall’s jumper catalyzed the host’s first run of the game. The 13-point hot streak saw contributions from four Javelinas.
Junior Anastacia Mickens kept the scoring alive with a layup at the 5:33 mark. With three minutes remaining in the first period, forward Daisah Purnell hit a triple to cut the visitor’s advantage to 12-7. Two straight jumpers from sophomore Bridget Upton cut the Hilltopper lead to one. Mickens hit the go-ahead jumper with thirty seconds left to play in the frame, giving the host team their first advantage of the outing.
The Hilltoppers got things going in the second period with a 6-0 run that gave them an 18-13 advantage.
San Angelo-native Bria-Anna Soliz broke the second-quarter ice for the Blue and Gold at the free-throw line after being hacked on an in-bound play. Mickens followed Soliz’s visit to the line with a layup, cutting the Hilltopper lead to 18-17.
With their advantage at one and 4:23 to go in the first half, the Hilltoppers began a 12-point scoring streak that would go unanswered until Upton scored four points in the last few seconds of the half.
Up 30-20 at the beginning of the third period, Hilltopper guard Fairen Sutton hit a pair of triples, extending their lead to 16. A strong offensive attack kept the advantage in the hands of the Hilltoppers for the duration of the third, the largest lead being 22. A five-point effort by TAMUK cut their deficit down to 54-37 at the end of the third-quarter.
The final period of regulation was all St. Mary’s. A 24-point fame from the visitors led to a 29-point advantage with 2:20 left in action. A free-throw from Madison Lucas and an Upton-jumper brought the final score to 78-52.
Mickens and Upton each dropped a dozen points a-piece, leading TAMUK in the scoring column. Mickens and Treazure Mouton led the Blue and Gold on the boards with 6 and 5 rebounds, respectively.
The Javelinas return to LSC-action on February 15th with a homestand against Texas A&M International.