ODESSA, Texas (December 7, 2024) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team won both the first and fourth quarters by five points each en route to a thrilling 87-79 victory over Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon at the Falcon Dome.

With the win, UTPB improves to 5-3 overall on the season and is now 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference, its first time starting 3-0 in conference play since joining the LSC in 2016-17. It was also the Falcons' first time starting 3-0 in conference play since the 2014-15 season when they were in the Heartland Conference.

This one was a slugfest from start to finish with both teams coming out firing and never cooling off. The teams combined to make seven 3-pointers in all four quarters and scored a combined 26 points in just the first five minutes of the game. Though UTPB's efficient shooting ultimately secured the win, both team's offenses were in sync as they combined for just 19 turnovers and each shot above 48 percent from the field.

Both teams were on fire from outside, each making 14 threes in the game. UTPB shot 48.3 percent (14-29) from three and made nine 3-pointers in the first half.

The star of the game for UTPB was newcomer Taysha Rushton, who poured in 38 points. She was 11-for-16 from the field, 8-for-10 from three and 8-for-11 from the free throw line.

Rushton's 38 points were the third most in program history, were the most scored in a game since 2012 and were the most ever for UTPB against a Lone Star Conference opponent.

Another newcomer, Nikki Green, sank four of her eight 3-pointers and finished with 18 points.

Fifth-year senior and graduate student Avalon Munoz added 12 points and matched her career-high with 10 assists as she recorded her first double-double of the season. Munoz also has a triple-double on her resume from two seasons ago.

Junior Khiara Flugence was the fourth and final Falcon in double-figure scoring (10 points) in addition to securing a game-high seven rebounds, including five offensive boards.

After four lead changes during a back-and-forth third quarter, UTPB took a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter as Kamari Portalis connected on a pair of free throws in the final minute and Rushton got fouled on a 3-point shot in the final seconds and went 2-for-3 from the line.

That made it a 62-59 Falcons' lead, and after the Javelinas promptly tied it with a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, Munoz answered with a 3-pointer of her own.

The Javelinas got back to within one point of the Falcons two times in the fourth quarter before UTPB began to pull away in the final five minutes.

A layup by Flugence with four and a half minutes left started a 9-0 UTPB run that also featured a 3-pointer by Green after a steal by Rushton and ended with a pair of three throws by Rushton to make it a 10-point lead (79-69) with two minutes remaining.

Kingsville cut it to five (82-77) after a 3-pointer in the final 40 seconds, but a miss from three trying to cut it to a one-score game with 20 seconds left was off target and was rebounded by Makala Bingley. Bingley was fouled and sank both free throws to make it an eight-point game (85-77) and effectively put it out of reach in the final 15 seconds.

UTPB shot 70 percent from the field (7-10) in the final period and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line to help secure the win.

UTPB Head Women's Basketball Coach Rae Boothe had this to say after the historic performance, "What a game. Both teams shot very well and fought hard for 40 minutes. It was a high-level game. Taysha had an incredible game knocking down 8-for-10 from three and finishing with 38 points plus five assists. Av had a bigtime double-double. Nikki also added some big buckets at very crucial times while knocking down 4-of-8 from three and finishing with 18. Overall we were solid with only having nine turnovers, out-rebounding Kingsville by three, and drawing a ton of fouls and capitalizing on them at the free throw line while shooting 76 percent there. We will enjoy this one and then it's back to work to get ready for our Oklahoma road trip next week."

Next up, the Falcons will play on the road for the first time this season in conference action as UTPB heads to Oklahoma Christian University on Thursday, December 12 (5:30 p.m.), and Cameron University on Saturday, December 14 (1 p.m.).