DENTON, Texas (Jan. 21) – TWU senior Danielle Westerfield came off the bench and recorded a near double-double in a 57-40 win over visiting Texas A&M-Kingsville Thursday night in Kitty Magee Arena.  With the win the Pioneers improved to 16-3 on the season and 6-1 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Westerfield finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.  Freshman Kara Mitchell led the team with 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the floor.  Junior Erin Maxwell added eight points, five rebounds and six blocks while juniors Deja Pointer and Taylor Nolan added seven points each.  Junior Andrea Mapua played a team-high 33 minutes and added six points and three assists.
 
After trading points early in the game, the Pioneers used a 9-2 run to take a 20-13 lead after the first quarter.  TWU maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second quarter and took a 36-22 halftime lead.
 
The Pioneers pushed the lead to 17 points early in the third quarter but TAMUK used a 11-0 run to cut the deficit to six points, 39-33, at 4:02 mark.  TWU pushed the lead back to 10 points on back-to-back jumpers by Nolan and led 48-38 after three quarters.
 
In the fourth quarter the Pioneers' defense stepped up and held Texas A&M-Kingsville to just one basket.  After the Javelinas made a basket in the first minute of the quarter to cut the deficit to nine points, TWU held them without a point for the rest of the quarter for a 17-point win.
 
"This is a good team win and we had lot of players step up," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson.  "We had certain players ready to play when their number was called.  It wasn't the prettiest game, but we found a way to win and I am proud of the team.  When we made a mistake we did not dwell on it and made up for it on the other end."
 
The Pioneers held Texas A&M-Kingsville to just 18.9 percent shooting including 15.6 percent in the second half.  TWU also had 10 blocks and 10 steals.  On offense the Pioneers shot 48.8 percent from the floor and outscored the Javelinas, 24-16, in the paint.
 
TWU will now start a four-game road trip starting on Sunday, Jan. 24.  The Pioneers will head to San Angelo, TX, to face Angelo State at 1:00 p.m. in Junell Center.