KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s basketball All-Decade team presented by Whataburger was released on Wednesday, commemorating the best student-athletes to take to the hardwood for the Javelinas from the 2009-10 through the 2019-20 seasons.
In addition to the All-Decade team, Felicia Soza was named the Javelina Women’s Basketball Player of the Decade, while Amanda Haven was named the Sixth Woman of the Decade.
PLAYER OF THE DECADE
Felicia Soza
Soza, a four-year letter winner from Beeville, Texas, played her final season for the Javelinas in 2009-10 and saved the best for last as she carried a 15.6 scoring average while starting all 28 games and averaging 30.1 minutes on the floor. She shot at a .458 clip from the field, owned a .447 average from beyond the arc and made her free throws at a .765 rate, while adding 34 assists, 44 steals and a 4.7 rebounding average.
The 2009-10 season on the floor for Soza saw her lead TAMUK in scoring in 14 games, including a season-high 29 in a 102-63 win over Texas A&M International on December 30. In total, she recorded 10 points in 25 contests on the year, eclipsed the 20-point plateau in five games, and finished the year scoring at least 10 points in 15 straight games.
Soza finished the campaign with 436 points, only one of 22 Javelinas to reach that threshold in program history and the 18th-most in a season. She ended her time in the Blue and Gold as one of 13 to score 1000 points in a career as she finished with 1071, 11th-most all-time, and was twice named All-LSC honorable mention for her efforts on the floor. Her name also appears on the career games played list with 109, fifth-most all-time, on the three-point field goals made with 164, third-most all-time, and her .447 clip in the 2009-10 campaign from three-point land is the second-highest in program history.
ALL-DECADE TEAM
Kayla Naylor
Naylor, a four-year letter winner from Corpus Christi, Texas, is another member from the 2009-10 team to be named to the list as she, like her contemporary Soza, saved the best for last that year by averaging 11.9 points per game in 31.2 minutes on the floor as she started all 28 games. Her efforts on the hardwood featured a .465 clip from the field, a .449 rate from long range, and a .804 percentage from the charity stripe in addition to 111 assists, 56 steals and a 2.1 rebounding average.
The 2009-10 season saw Naylor reach 10 points in a game in 20 contests with a season-high 22 in a 72-63 win over Midwestern State on February 17. She scored 10 points in seven consecutive games starting against Nebraska-Omaha on November 21, and she added 10 more in a 13-game stretch starting on December 31 against St. Edwards.
Naylor’s .449 clip from the perimeter in 2009-10 remains the highest in program history for single-season three-point percentage as she was named All-LSC honorable mention following the year. Her 111 assists also slot her ninth in single-season program history, and her 359 career assists are second only to Lorie Martinez’s 370.
Kaylin Roher
Roher, a two-year letter winner from League City, Texas, joined the Javelinas ahead of the 2015-16 campaign after spending the previous two seasons at McLennan in Waco, Texas. She made an immediate impact as she started all 26 games her first season in the Blue and Gold and carried an 11.8 scoring average in 32.2 minutes on the floor. Her 2015-16 season ended with a .323 field goal percentage, a .347 clip from beyond the arc and a .667 percentage from the line coupled with a 2.2 rebounding average, 45 asssists and 36 steals.
The 2016-17 saw Roher start in all 28 contests as she ended the year with a 10.8 scoring average in 30.2 minutes on the floor. She upped all of her percentages to .360 from the field, .369 from the perimeter and .855 from the stripe as she finished with a 2.5 rebounding average 67 assists and 46 pickpockets, and her efforts that year saw her named All-LSC honorable mention.
Lindsey Mahone
Mahone, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, played one year for Eastern Michigan and one year at Angelo State before heading to Kingsville ahead of the 2013-14 campaign. She made her presence felt from the start as she averaged 13.7 points on 27.9 minutes per game as she appeared in all 27 contests that year. She finished with a .397 shooting average from the field coupled with a .617 clip from the line alongside a 7.2 rebounding average, 58 assists, six blocks and 54 steals.
The 2013-14 season saw Mahone score 10 points in 18 games as she surpassed 20 points in five separate contests. Her season-high of 27 came in a 76-73 loss to Southern Arkansas on November 27 and she added another 25 in a 107-102 triple-overtime loss to Texas Woman’s on February 12. She also established herself on the defensive end as she pulled in 10 rebounds in five games, including a season-high 13 in an 80-55 win over A&M-Commerce on February 13.
In total, Mahone recorded a double-double in five contests, starting with 22 points and 12 rebounds in an 83-82 overtime win over Texas A&M International on November 30. She followed up with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a 66-57 loss to Eastern New Mexico on January 15, posted 14 points and 10 rebounds in an 81-59 loss to Midwestern State on January 25, came away with 12 rebounds in her 25-point performance against TWU, and added 16 points to her 13 boards against the Lions. Her lone year in the Blue and Gold saw her come away with a Second Team All-LSC selection, adding to her second team accolade the previous year at Angelo State, as she was also named to the LSC All-Defensive team.
Inekka Stevenson
Stevenson, a native of Freeport, Texas, played for one season in 2011-12 for the Javelinas but covered all parts of the floor as she averaged 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in 30.8 minutes on the floor. She shot .375 from the field and .779 from the line, and ended with 60 assists, 29 blocks and 33 steals while starting all 26 games.
For the 2011-12 season, Stevenson put away 10 points in 18 contests, including a season-high 19 in an 86-77 loss to TAMIU on January 2, and scored at least 10 points in 12 of the final 13 games. She also pulled in 10 rebounds in eight appearances, with a season-high 15 coming in a 79-64 loss to Abilene Christian on February 19, and posted double-digit rebounds in five of the final six games of the year.
Stevenson ended with six double-doubles on the year, starting with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 76-58 loss to UT Permian Basin on November 17. She followed with 11 rebounds in her 19-point performance against the Dustdevils, added 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-66 win over A&M-Commerce on February 6, and another 10 points and 11 rebounds in an 86-65 win over Cameron on February 9. She ended the campaign with a double-double in two of the last three games of the year, including 11 points and 10 rebounds in a 65-54 win over Angelo State on February 15 and another 11 points and 12 rebounds in a 63-58 win in the season finale against TWU on February 22.
SIXTH WOMAN OF THE DECADE
Amanda Haven
Haven, a native of Calallen, Texas, played three years for Valdosta State before her final season was spent at TAMUK. She immediately slotted into the starting line and came away with an 11.8 scoring average in 27.7 minutes on the floor and finished with a .396 shooting clip from the field, a .325 rate from beyond the arc and a .708 percentage from the stripe as she started all 26 games. She also added 43 assists, eight blocks and 30 steals to go with a 2.9 rebounding average that year.
The 2011-12 campaign featured Haven scoring at least 10 points in 20 contests, including a season-high 21 in a 102-76 loss to Tarleton on February 1 that kicked off a string of eight straight games with double-digit scoring to close the year. She also put away 20 points a few days later in a 75-72 win over A&M-Commerce and had another 19 points in a 78-68 win over St. Edward’s on November 12.
HONORABLE MENTION
Ashley Viera
Viera, a four-year letter winner out of Corpus Christi, Texas, was often the first off the bench for the Javelinas as she played in 103 games in her four seasons on the court for the Blue and Gold. Her best season came in the 2013-14 campaign where she had career-highs in points per game at 11.0, minutes per game at 29.6, and rebounds per game at 2.9. She also shot .357 from the field that year, .308 from beyond the arc and .610 from the line to go with 79 assists, three blocks and 32 steals en route to her All-LSC honorable mention selection.
That year saw Viera post at least 10 points in 16 games, including a season-high 19 in a 92-86 double-overtime win over TAMIU on November 30. She also had a string of five games scoring in double figures starting on February 5 where she dropped 12 in a 72-56 win over Eastern New Mexico, and ended the year with 15 points in a 68-61 loss to Texas Woman’s on March 6 in the LSC Tournament. In her career, she put away 223 assists in four seasons for the ninth-most all-time in program history.
Dyana Bullinger
Bullinger, a four-year letter winner from Spring, Texas, is the final member from the 2009-10 team to be named to the All-Decade team as her final year in the Blue and Gold saw set new career best in scoring at 9.6 points per game as she started all 28 contests that year. She shot .403 from the field, .400 from beyond the arc, .772 from the line and added a 5.6 rebounding average alongside 48 assists, seven blocks and 54 steals.
The first of three double-doubles that year by way of Bullinger came in the season opener as she put away 13 points and 11 rebounds in an 81-57 win over East Central on November 15. She ended up scoring at least 10 points in seven of the first eight games, including 21 in the 115-59 win over Texas A&M International on November 30. She also tabbed back-to-back double-doubles on January 16 and 20 as she put away 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 77-61 win in the former, and then matched that feat with an identical 22 points and 10 rebounds in an 82-65 win over Angelo State in the latter.
The 2009-10 season saw Bullinger cap off her career with an All-LSC honorable mention selection, one year after she was named Second Team All-LSC, as the Javelinas finished 18-10 that year with a trip to the LSC Tournament. On the career lists, she is tied with Soza for fifth all-time in games played at 109, second all-time in three-pointers made with 209, first all-time in three-point shooting percentage at .391, fifth all-time in free throw percentage at .772, and third all-time in steals with 164.
Meesha Wade
Wade, a two-year letter winner from Dallas, transferred to TAMUK ahead of the 2015-16 season after spending two years at Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas. She appeared in all 26 contests in her first year and came away with 7.9 points per game in 27.8 minutes on the floor, shot at a .305 clip from the field and .723 from the line, and added 56 assists, 12 blocks and 33 steals to her total.
The 2016-17 season featured a 9.1 scoring average from Wade in 26.3 minutes on the floor as she started all 27 games and added a .380 shooting clip from the field to go with 69 assists, 15 blocks and 37 steals. Her time on the hardwood featured 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 60-47 win over Midwestern State on December 19 during her second season in the Blue and Gold and a season-high 18 points in a 69-54 win over Cameron on February 4 that same year.