by Jon Montoya, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s basketball program kept the momentum up from their thrilling decision earlier this weekend with a convincing 63-51 win over Eastern New Mexico on Sunday at the Steinke Physical Education Center to wrap up the first weekend of Lone Star Conference play.
MICHAEL MADRID POSTGAME INTERVIEW | KRYSLYN JONES POSTGAME INTERVIEW
The Javelinas (8-4, 2-0 LSC) turned in another defensive clinic and had four student-athletes score in double figures en route to the convincing win over the Greyhounds (4-4, 0-2 LSC). With the decision, TAMUK matched its win total from the shortened 2020-21 season and started off league play 2-0 for the second consecutive year.
The last time the Blue and Gold started 2-0 in consecutive seasons was 1999-00 and 2000-01 as the team made the South Central Regional Tournament both years. The 1999-00 team finished 23-7 under the direction of Jill Wilson and claimed the program’s only LSC regular season and tournament championships, while the 2000-01 team secured the South Central Regional crown under Debbie Robledo en route to the program’s only appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight and finished the year 27-7.
For the second game in a row, the Javelinas never trailed their opponents as freshman Devon Williams (Gonzales, Texas) started the scoring with a feed from sophomore Kryslyn Jones (Semionle/Creek) and poured one in before a minute had elapsed. ENMU forced the game’s lone tie after Bella Stone completed the and-one at 5:19 for a 7-7 count before Williams dropped a long-range shot into the bucket.
The score shoed 10-9 favoring the hosts coming out of the first media timeout and a trey from freshman Janessa Payne (Aledo, Texas) sparked a 10-0 run to close the first quarter. She added another three-pointer later in the run while junior Brianna Pena (Weslaco, Texas) and freshman Mia Rivers (College Station, Texas) both tacked on two of their own.
Both sides traded baskets through most of the second before the Javelinas put away the final seven points of the half for a 36-23 edge heading into the locker rooms. Jones was responsible for six of the points and she fired off a pair of triples while senior Anastacia Mickens (Beaumont, Texas) added the other point from the charity stripe.
ENMU whittled down its deficit in the third but another timely three-pointer from Jones in the final minute ensured the cushion stayed in double figures with a 46-35 score heading into the final quarter. The visitors closed the gap back to single digits early in the fourth before a layup from Williams kept the Javelinas comfortably ahead for good before the final buzzer.
Jones picked up her second double-digit scoring game of the weekend as she finished with a team-high 17 on a 5-for-10 clip from the field, 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 from the line. She also added a pair of rebounds and passed out one assist in the win.
