KINGSVILLE, Texas -- Despite holding Texas A&M-Kingsville to just three points in the first quarter, Midwestern State fell 62-57 to the Javelinas after their 30-point fourth quarter comeback. MSU held TAMUK to just 29 percent from the floor in the Thursday night Lone Star Conference game at Steinke Center.
Frances King posted her 16th double-digit performance of the season with 18 points and added six assists.
Hannah Reynolds inked her third double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Mustangs. Kryslyn Jones tallied 31 points for Kingsville after averaging just nine on the season.
King started hot, bagging the Mustangs' first five points. The Javelinas shot just 16 percent within the first four minutes to trail by six early.
"We were executing," said head coach
Christopher Reay. "We were running plays that we had been working on for a while. What got us the lead was getting down and getting layups."
A 12-0 run pushed MSU's lead with all five starters posting points in the streak. Then the game entered a two-and-a-half-minute scoreless stretch until King turned in her tenth point on a three-pointer at 2:01.
Jones posted TAMUK's only score of the quarter. The home side shot five percent on 1-of-17 tries.
Midwestern State turned in 7-of-18 shooting (38%) to take a 14-point lead. The Mustangs out-rebounded the Javelinas 16-10 and led for almost nine minutes of the quarter.
Texas A&M-Kingsville added turnovers to their misgivings, totaling five at the 7:02 mark in the second quarter. Jones ended the scoreless streak with two made free-throws at 5:35.
MSU struggled offensively early in the second quarter, banking just one of their first seven shots from the floor.
TAMUK went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to ten points until
Markayla Johnson's jumper at 4:13.
Hannah Reynold's back-to-back layups helped the visitors hold onto the 27-18 lead with less than a minute until halftime. MSU finished the second quarter shooting 33 percent for 12 points to maintain their lead. The team was out-rebounded 8-11 and had five turnovers in the quarter.
Brianna Pena's buzzer-beating layup took the Javelinas into halftime down by nine. Texas A&M-Kingsville's 17-point quarter was fueled on 5-of-17 shooting from the field and 11 fast break points. Jones inked 12 of the 20 points for TAMUK.
Jones and Pena pushed TAMUK within nine with 4:36 left in the third period on 3-of-9 shooting. Only two other Javelinas put up points as Mia Rivers and Janessa Payne combined for seven points.
MSU saw a three-minute drought after King's 4:11 jumper, but still tied Texas A&M-Kingsville with ten points on the quarter. The Javelinas also struggled after not catching a basket after River's free-throw at 3:04.
TAMUK claimed another buzzer-beater, this time from Devon Williams. This put the home side down by eight going into the final quarter. Texas A&M-Kingsville was 4-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the line.
Midwestern State shot 36 percent from the field and 50 percent from the line.
The home side took the lead on a 16-3 run through the fourth quarter. Texas A&M-Kingsville went 9-of-9 from the floor to take an 11-point lead with 5:40 left in the quarter.
"They turned our misses into fast breaks," said Reay. "We also didn't have the best shot selection on offense. We tried to force some things and we needed to be more patient."
MSU's shooting woes caught up as they went 1-of-8 from the floor in the over two-minute drought. Millar's layup at 5:23 ended the streak and brought the Mustangs within nine. A 5-0 run for Midwestern State put them down 50-56 with 3:02 to play. Free-throws were instrumental as the team went 14-of-19 from the line. Reynold's layup with 45 seconds put the Mustangs within four.
Sheridan Bostic's converted three with 11 seconds left was the last score for MSU. Millar concluded the game with ten rebounds and eight points while Lenahan tallied six points on 1-of-16 shooting.
Rivers added three assists ten points to the Javelina's score, going 3-of-8 from the floor. Williams led with 13 rebounds while Pena collected seven points.
Midwestern State returns to play on Saturday, Feb. 17 for another Lone Star Conference showdown. The Mustangs take on Texas A&M International in Laredo, Texas, at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. with coverage available online.
