Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Led by four players in double figures, Tarleton pushed its win streak to six straight following a 90-70 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville in the first game of 2013 Wednesday night at Wisdom Gym.
This is the sixth time since Tarleton joined the NCAA in 1994 that Tarleton has reeled off six straight wins. All six NCAA six-game win streaks have come under the instruction of head coach Ronnie Hearne.
Tarleton got things going early with a strong inside presence – taking advantage of the lack of size on the other side. Texas A&M-Kingsville started the contest with its tallest player listed at 5-8.
The TexAnns went to work in the paint, getting the first bucket of the game on a layup by
Shanae Lowrance. After a Javelina bucket and a
Brianna Bledsoe 3-ball, Tarleton went back down low to
Kiara Wright for four unanswered points to lead 9-2.
After Kingsville cut the TexAnn lead to two at 14-12, Wright went to the charity stripe and knocked down a pair of free throws to start an 11-0 run. On the strength of points by Wright (5),
Peyton Adamson (4) and
Brianna Bledsoe (2), the TexAnn run pushed the lead to a game-high 13 points with 8:20 left.
Over the rest of the half, Tarleton never led by less than double figures and pushed its lead to as many as 19 following a
Morgan Ashmore layup at 2:27. Tarleton went into halftime with a 15-point, 49-34 lead.
Kingsville opened the second half on a 6-2 run to cut the TexAnn lead to 11 just 3:24 into the new half.
A Bledsoe layup on the next possession, however, turned the momentum back in the TexAnns; favor. The Bledsoe bucket started a 9-0 Tarleton run to push the lead to 20 with 13:30 left in the game.
After a Kingsville layup,
Karli Moore connected on a layup to start a 12-1 run over the next 3:40 to seal the game with a 29-point Tarleton lead and just 8:30 left to play. Tarleton coasted to the win over the final eight minutes.
Lowrance led the team with 16 points – to go along with six rebounds – while Wright poured in 13 points – to go with her eight boards. The other two TexAnns to crack double figures came off the bench with
Cheyenne Berry's 10 and
Keyra Johnson's career-high 11 points. Every TexAnn recorded a point in the contest.
The TexAnns outscored the Javelinas 52-26 in the paint and 40-29 off the bench.
Next up for the TexAnns is a rematch of last season LSC Championship game as Tarleton travels to San Antonio to face off against Incarnate Word at 2 p.m. from the McDermott Center.
