Dec. 5, 2011
Final Stats
LAREDO, Texas - The Texas A&M International University Women's Basketball team (6-5) showed just how dangerous their offense can be Monday night, topping Texas A&M Kingsville (1-6) 93-79 at the TAMIU KCB. The Women's team has now won six of seven games and has extended their school record to six non-conference wins.
Amanda Mangan scored 17 points and Linda Banuelos tallied 16, both career highs, while four additional players scored in double figures for TAMIU including Sam Chacon with 14, Nikkitti Scott with 13, Re'Nikia Meshack with 13 and Jennifer Johnson with 10. Mangan and Scott each added 11 boards to finish with double-doubles.
"Anytime you get a win over a Lone Star opponent it's a big deal," said Head Coach David Beaver. "Kingsville hasn't been a great matchup for us, even back before I arrived here. In the past they've liked to pick on the Heartland schools, but the field has been leveled. We were ready to play tonight plain and simple. We made an emphasis on finishing this run of games on a high note and the girls have put in the work at practice, so they deserve a lot of credit."
Banuelos was dialed in from the opening tip, scoring the first five points of the game for TAMIU. She closed out the opening half with 13 points and four rebounds. The Dustdevils were unable to gain a sizable lead until late in the half when Nikkitti Scott sparked a 12-2 run, scoring 8 of those 12 points. Scott finished with ten points and ten rebounds in the first half and the Dustdevils led 47-33 at the break.
In the second half, TAMIU was able to extend their lead out to 18 points, but there was no quit in the Javelinas. Kingsville was able to trim the Dustdevils lead down to seven points with just under five minutes remaining, but `Nika Meshack and Amanda Mangan refused to allow the Javelinas back into the game. Mangan and Meshack combined for 23 total points in the second half, propelling the Dustdevils to their sixth win of the year.
The ladies will now get a considerable amount of time off, with their next game scheduled for December 17th on the road versus Texas A&M Commerce.
