KINGSVILLE, Texas (Jan. 25, 2018) - Alexis Nezianya grabbed an offensive board for Texas Woman's University and scored the putback while being fouled with three seconds on the clock to tie the contest and force overtime with Texas A&M-Kingsville, but the Javelinas outscored the Pioneers 19-to-12 in the extra period to hand TWU a 66-59 loss Saturday inside Gil E. Steinke Center.
 
Nezianya hit two from the line with 1:19 remaining in regulation for a 45-45 tie before TAMUK managed a score inside for a two-point lead. The Pioneers (7-10, 4-7 LSC) called a timeout and ran down the clock until Morgan Easley put up a shot to which Nezianya hauled down the miss and quickly put it back up with a draping Javelina defender to draw the foul. The free throw was off the mark, and a last-second shot by TAMUK fell short to force overtime.
 
The Javelinas (6-14, 3-9 LSC) opened OT with a layup off of the tip and hit a pair of free throws for a 51-47 advantage 40 seconds in. Two layups and three free throws extended the TAMUK lead to 58-50 with 2:09 to play before Desiree Phipps converted a three-point play and sank a pair from the line to close the Pioneers to 60-57 with 33 seconds on the clock. The Javelinas sank six from the line in the final 27 seconds to seal the win.
 
KJ Stastny and Whitney Apari each had 12 points for TWU, while Easley recorded a season-high 11. The Pioneers forced a season-best 24 turnovers but struggled on the boards as TAMUK totaled 56 rebounds compared to 35 from TWU.
 
In the first quarter, Stastny secured a steal and converted a layup for a 7-5 edge at the six-minute mark. With just under a minute to go in the period, Statsny drew a foul on a baseline jumper and hit the freebie for a 12-9 Pioneer lead. TWU increased the gap to 21-16 in the second quarter and held a 22-19 edge heading into halftime.
 
A pull-up jumper by Apari early in the third quarter put TWU up, 29-27, but the Javelinas pieced together a 7-1 run to close within 30-29 four minutes later. A three by Phipps upped the margin to 35-29 before period concluded with the Pioneers leading 37-34.
 
Easley notched the first six Pioneer points in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer and a trio from the line as TWU held onto a 43-41 lead with just under four minutes to go. The Javelinas registered a field goal in the paint and two free throws to take a 45-43 lead with 1:34 remaining.
 
Head Coach Beth Jillson said, "We had every opportunity to win that game. The boards really hurt us tonight and were the difference maker. We did some good things defensively but need to be more disciplined in order to win those kind of games."
 
The Pioneers head to Angelo State for a Saturday matchup at 2 p.m.