KINGSVILLE, Texas (Dec. 4, 2025) –  Texas Woman's basketball continued their winning ways in Kingsville tonight, opening Lone Star Conference play with a 52-41 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville.

The assignment for TWU (6-1, 1-0) was a challenging one, with TAMUK (0-5, 0-1) taking a 21-20 lead into the half – TWU dropped the only other game this season in which they trailed at the half. However, a third period surge of 17 points – the most the Pioneers tallied in a period in the game – propelled the nation's fifth-ranked team to the win.

The Pioneers key to victory was at the free throw line, posting a season-high 92.3% of free throws made, missing only one of 13 attempts. TWU on defense excelled at playing keep-away, holding TAMUK to only six free throw attempts; their fewest on the season, as well as recording a season high 13 steals, which lead to a season high 33 points off turnovers for the Pioneers. 

It marked the Pioneers fifth win in a row, as they remained a perfect 4-0 on the road this season. In the win, TWU held the Javelinas to two quarters with less than 10 points, marking their sixth and seventh quarters this season holding an opponent to single-digit points in a quarter. 

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Madi Lumsden led the team in scoring with 13 points, as well as in successful shots from the field with four. The junior also went a perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line 2-for-3 from behind the three-point line and tallied three steals.
• Jada Celsur added 10 points to the total, with a pair of threes along with making both free throw attempts. Celsur also added four rebounds and four steals in the contest; all in 37 minutes, one minute off her season high.
• Averee Kleinhans also tallied 10 points in the win, including going a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line – the third game in a row in which the senior made 100% of her attempts. Kleinhans added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to the stat sheet, all in a season high 36 minutes.
• Along with Lumsden and Kleinhans, Celsur and Avery McConnell remained perfect from the free throw line, going 2-for-2 in the win. 

PIONEER POWER MOMENTS

• The first three made baskets of the game were three pointers, one by Celsur and two by the Javelinas to give TAMUK the early 6-3 lead two and a half minutes into the game. The next basket coming two minutes after the last, a jumper by Kleinhans, gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game at 6-5. After two made free throws by McConnell to put TWU ahead 12-10, the Pioneers would go scoreless for the remaining three minutes of the opening quarter. The Javelinas scored the final basket of the quarter, a three with five seconds on the clock, to send TWU into the second quarter of action trailing by one, 13-12. 
• A similar defensive battle marked the beginning of the second period, this time with the Pioneers breaking through off a Jordyn Hernandez layup to regain the lead at 14-13. After a Javelinas jumper brought the score to 16-15, with TWU leading,a pair of free throws and a layup by Kleinhans gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the half with a five-point margin at 20-15. Nevertheless, TAMUK closed the half on a 4-0 run to go into halftime with the one point advantage, 21-20. 
• Trailing by one entering the third period, the Pioneers rallied back to regain the lead in the first two minutes off a Kleinhans jumper and a pair of Celsur free throws for a three point lead at 24-21. The Javelinas regained the lead at 27-26 with 5:43 remaining, but a 6-0 run that followed marked the turning point of the game; as the Pioneers responded to the end of the run with a Hernandez layup and Jaylee Moss trey to expand the lead to eight at 37-29, heading into the final 10 minutes of action with the eight point advantage. 
• Both teams would trade baskets through the first half of the fourth period, but the Pioneers kept control of the game throughout, and went on a 7-0 run accentuated by a Lumsden three to bring the lead margin to 12, at 48-36. A pair of free throws by Lumsden would conclude the game's scoring, and seal the 52-41 win.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BETH JILLSON

"I am proud of our team's effort tonight. They battled throughout the entire 40 minutes to earn a tough LSC road win to start the conference season. Every player was needed tonight and took advantage of the minutes they had to provide a positive impact. Our defense propelled our energy tonight, which helped us get momentum changing points on offense."

NEXT UP

The Pioneers conclude their three-game road swing Saturday afternoon in Laredo, Texas, taking on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils for a 1 p.m. tip off.