LAWTON, Okla. – An explosive first half by the Aggies paved the way for a 97-63 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon.
The Cameron women picked up their first Lone Star Conference win by taking their sixth straight contest against the Javelinas to move to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in the league. TAMUK is now 6-3 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Five Aggies scored in the double figures with
Savanna James leading the charge with a career high 26 points. She also grabbed eight boards and blocked two shots while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 at the foul line.
Natalie Halbleib was next with 19 points and was just shy of nabbing her fourth straight double-double by getting nine rebounds.
Ava Battese had 15 points,
Charron Montgomery 13 and
Brittany Hill had 10.
Cameron jumped to a 6-0 start and did not let off the gas pedal to grab a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
James capped off the hot start with a last second trey in the frame where the Aggies held the Javelinas to just 18 percent from the field while shooting 43 percent themselves, generating ten points off TAMUK miscues.
The Aggies would lead by as much as 21 in the first half with James, Halbleib and Battese already reaching double figures in scoring. Cameron carried a 50-32 lead at the halftime buzzer after shooting 47 percent from the field and beyond the arc coupled with an 11-for-13 effort at the line.
Meanwhile, CU kept TAMUK to 36 percent on the floor, 28 percent from out deep and 40 percent from the charity stripe.
CU kept momentum in the second half by outscoring the Javelinas by eight points in each quarter. TAMUK struggled with holding onto the ball, tallying 14 turnovers in the second half for 21 total on the game. Ten of those miscues were forced by Aggie steals.
TAMUK would edge CU at the boards by one, 42-41.
The Aggies would shoot 49 percent from the field while making 11 three-pointers total and shot 86 percent at the foul line in the win.
Cameron will pick LSC play back up at 2 p.m. on New Year's Eve when they host Angelo State.
