DENTON, Texas (Jan. 25, 2017) – Texas Woman's University begins round two of Lone Star Conference play against Texas A&M-Kingsville Thursday at 7 p.m. inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
TEXAS WOMAN'S (12-6, 5-5 Lone Star) vs. TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (9-8, 4-7 Lone Star)
Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
Denton, Texas (Kitty Magee Arena)
 
Game Promotions
Faculty/Staff Appreciation, TWU Honors Program Night, Kinesiology Club Night, free beanies to the first 110 TWU students for Pioneer Pride Game presented by Campus Activities Board
 
About the Pioneers
TWU evened their LSC record to .500 at 5-5 with a significant win over Cameron last Saturday. The victory boosted the Pioneers to sole possession of sixth place within the conference standings. Kenesha Saygo ranks third in LSC in scoring (16.6), fourth in free-throw attempts (86), sixth in free-throws made (60) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.411). Grace Mitchell is sixth in blocked shots per game (1.0), and Alexis Nezianya ranks seventh in offensive rebounds per game (2.0). As a team, TWU is third in field goal percentage (.413) and steals (151).
 
About the Javelinas
TAMUK dropped a 70-63 decision to Angelo State Tuesday to bring their overall record to 9-8 and 4-7 in conference play. The Javelinas rank high in the LSC in several defensive categories - second in scoring defense (62.2), along with third in FG percentage defense (.372), blocked shots per game (3.8), three-point FG defense (.282) and turnovers forced per game (18.0). Offensively, TAMUK is led by Kaylin Roher's 11.6 points per game.
 
History amongst Texas Woman's and Texas A&M-Kingsville
The Javelinas took a one-game all-time series lead at 28-27 following their 67-55 win over the Pioneers in the LSC season opener Dec. 1, 2016. Prior to that defeat, the Pioneers had taken the last seven matchups and had won 12 of the 15 games during Head Coach Beth Jillson's tenure.
 
 
Last meeting between TWU and TAMUK
KINGSVILLE, Texas (Dec. 1, 2016) – A 30-25 halftime lead for Texas Woman's University was erased by Texas A&M-Kingsville as the Pioneers were outscored 25-9 in the third quarter leading to a 67-55 loss to open Lone Star Conference play Thursday night inside the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center.
 
Alexis Nezianya scored a team-high 15 points, while Cienna Rodriguez and Grace Mitchell each tallied 10. The Pioneers (5-2, 0-1 Lone Star) were unable to produce another torrid shooting night from the field as they did on Saturday in the win at Oklahoma Christian, as TWU connected on only 36-percent of their tries and hit just 4-of-20 from deep, their lowest output of the season. The loss snapped a seven-game Pioneer win streak over the Javelinas (4-2, 1-1 Lone Star) dating to the 2012-13 season.
 
Mitchell duo combines for 36 points, 17 rebounds in 77-63 takedown of Cameron
DENTON, Texas (Jan. 21, 2017) – Grace and Kara Mitchell each scored a game-high 18 points off of the bench as Texas Woman's University closed the game against Cameron on a 20-4 run to shut down the Aggies 77-63 Saturday afternoon inside Kitty Magee Arena.
 
Grace Mitchell notched her third double-double of the season with her career-high 12 rebounds while Kara Mitchell matched her career-best in points and was clutch down the stretch as she had a play in a trio of quarter buzzer beaters. Kenesha Saygo scored the entirety of her 14 points all within the second half and Morgan Easley contributed a season-high 10. The Pioneer subs combined to score 53 points. Defensively, TWU held the Aggies to 17 points below their season average.
 
The game came down to the fourth quarter as the Pioneers trailed 56-55 entering the final stanza and Cameron (6-10, 4-6 LSC) quickly added a pair on a jumper nine seconds in. TWU (12-6, 4-6 LSC) momentarily grabbed the lead at 60-59 on an and-one by Saygo before the Aggies connected on a jumper at the 8:29 mark. Each team went scoreless for over three minutes until a left side drive by Easley handed the edge back to TWU to begin a 17-2 run. With TWU leading 68-61, the Aggies deliberately kept sending the Pioneers to the free throw line where the team sank 10-of-13 tries to put away Cameron.
 
The first quarter was riddled with turnovers and CU capitalized early on a Pioneer miscue to score a layup for the first bucket of the game. On the next possession Andrea Mapua grabbed and offensive board, and Emily Spector rewarded her on a kickout where Mapua sank a three from the left baseline. Cameron struggled to control the ball offensively by committing six turnovers within the first three minutes. Deja Pointer hit a floater to put the Pioneers up 20-11, and Kara Mitchell found Grace Mitchell underneath at the buzzer for a 21-15 TWU advantage.
 
CU's leading scorer, Savanna James, came alive in the second period after a scoreless first 10 minutes to knock down a jumper and three-pointer to close the Aggies to within 23-20. Easley took a strong drive to the hole for a 27-23 Pioneer lead at the 7:12 mark, but a CU jumper and putback by James knotted the game at 29-all. Kara Mitchell converted a pull-up jumper in the lane with 35 seconds left until the half and then tipped in two more points as the horn sounded to tie the game at 38-38.
 
Saygo put her first points in the book on a jumper from the right side two minutes into the second half and added a drive along with a three to tie the contest at 45-45. The Pioneers struggled against backcourt pressure, allowing the Aggies to claim a 54-47 lead with four minutes left in the period. Cameron led 56-53 with 39 seconds remaining, and on the final play Kara Mitchell once again came through to beat the horn to pull TWU to within one.