DENTON, Texas (Nov. 30, 2016) – Texas Woman's University basketball begins Lone Star Conference play Thursday at Texas A&M-Kingsville at 7 p.m. inside the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (5-1, 0-0 Lone Star) at TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (3-2, 0-1 Lone Star)
Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
Kingsville, Texas (Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center)
 
About the Pioneers
TWU gears up for LSC action after compiling a 5-1 record, all coming against regional opponents. The Pioneer wins came over Texas A&M International, Adams State, Arkansas-Fort Smith and UC-Colorado Springs, and the single blemish occurred versus Newman. Emily Spector leads the league in three-point percentage (.500), while Andrea Mapua sits second (.444).
 
About the Javelinas
The Javelinas jumpstarted LSC play Tuesday with an 84-59 loss to Angelo State. TAMUK is 3-2 overall and was chosen to finish last within the 11-team league.
 
History between Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Kingsville
The teams are deadlocked 27-27 in all-time meetings dating to the 1993-94 season. The Pioneers have taken the last seven matchups and have won 12 of the 15 games during Head Coach Beth Jillson's tenure.
 
Last meeting of TWU and TAMUK
KINGSVILLE, Texas (Feb. 18, 2016) – TWU junior Taylor Nolan came off the bench and scored 10 points to help the Pioneers to a 66-55 road win at Texas A&M-Kingsville.  With the win TWU improved to 19-7 on the season and 9-5 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Junior Kenesha Saygo led all players with 14 points while sophomore Alexis Nezianya added nine points and cleared a game-high 11 rebounds.  Sophomores Morgan Easley and Jayzhia Softly also came off the bench and scored eight and six points respectively.  Nolan shot 5-for-7 from the floor while Nezianya went perfect 4-for-4.
 
Mitchell hits game winner for TWU
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Nov. 26, 2016) – Kara Mitchell connected on a game-winning bucket in the paint with six seconds remaining to give Texas Woman's University an 80-78 win over Oklahoma Christian in which the Pioneers erased a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Eagles 31-16 in the final 11 minutes Saturday afternoon inside the Eagles' Nest.
 
Mitchell scored a team-high 17 points off of the bench for TWU (5-1), while Emily Spector, Andrea Mapua and Alexis Nezianya each added 14. The Pioneers shot an impressive 60-percent from the field for the highest single-game field goal performance within the Lone Star Conference this season and the sixth-highest output in NCAA Division II this season.
 
OC's Addy Clift scored three of her game-high 27 points with 1:11 left in the third quarter to hand the Eagles (1-5) their largest lead of the contest at 62-29 and the squad held an 11-point advantage heading into the final quarter. Mitchell opened the fourth with a pair of layups within the first 17 seconds to slice the lead to 65-58, and a three by Mapua lessened the gap to 67-61 with 8:18 to play. Mapua drilled another trey one minute later, and Spector also connected on one from deep to pull the Pioneers to within 69-67 with just over six minutes remaining.
 
Cienna Rodriquez drained a jumper with 3:52 on the clock to knot the game at 72-all, and Mapua added another triple to put the lead in favor of TWU, 75-72. A layup by Nezianya upped the margin to five with two and-a-half minutes to go, but the Lady Eagles scored twice in the paint to make it a one-point ballgame with 32 seconds to play. Nezianya made one-of-two from the line before Clift countered by hitting both attempts with 29 seconds remaining for a 78-78 tie. TWU called a timeout, allowing in inbounds from half court, which set up Mitchell's game-winning bucket. A deep three-point attempt by OC was long at the buzzer.