Johnathan Peña
Sports Editor
The Jaguars faced off against the Jarvis Christian University Bulldogs Nov. 21 and the Texas A&M University-Texarkana Eagles Nov. 23 in their first basketball conference home games. The women’s team maintained a streak of victories, but the men’s team didn’t keep up.
Lady Jaguar’s winning streak continues
Right off the bat, the Lady Bulldogs took the rock and cashed in their first field goal attempt during the first game.
After the Bulldogs scored, the Lady Jaguars responded with an aggressive defense and offensively took the ball to the paint from forward Talaiyah Andrews getting fouled.
The Jaguars locked down the Bulldogs early in the first half, causing the Bulldogs to have 12 turnovers.
The defense for the Lady Jaguars helped the offense stay consistent with fastbreak points and forced turnovers, resulting in 25 points off turnovers over the four quarters.
Bulldogs fans were dissatisfied with the calls the officials were making on the team because of the number of times the whistle was blown for the Lady Jaguars.
But, the Lady Jaguars never gave up their lead in the four quarters.
The Jaguars won 93-69 against the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Chris Minner said the Lady Jaguars had the “green light” to take the open and contest shots at every possession.
“I want them to shoot, we shoot a lot in practice, and I recruited them to shoot,” Minner said. “We are hard to defend, and we tighten up the rebounding on defense… the last thing that will click is game shooting, and we are getting close to it.”
“Driving to the basket coach wants us to get those fouls and we just listen to everything our coach says because he knows what’s best for us,” Lorenzo said.
The Lady Jaguars had four double-figure starters: guard TaMaya Whitemon, point guard Evelyn Lorenzo, forward Miya Simon and guard Natalia Trevino.
“Our coach gives us the green light, and if we are missing he’s still going to want us to shoot no matter what,” Simon said.
Lady Jaguars vs. Lady Eagles on Nov. 23
The next home conference game was against the A&M-Texarkana Eagles, which Minner had previously coached.
The Jaguars applied defensive pressure on the Eagles from the tip, impeding their plays and passes which led to 19 turnovers over four quarters for A&M-Texarkana
Minner said he wasn’t happy with the rebound situation in the game against the Bulldogs. So going into this game, he challenged his team to get more rebounds and box out.
“It’s better, but in the last game we gave up a lot of rebounds, so we had to improve on that,” Minner said. “We knew this was their strength, and they have really good post players. I coached that team last year. I know exactly what they have.”
The Jaguars won 78-56 and have a record of 5-2 overall and 3-1.
Jaguars struggle to find a win at home
The A&M-San Antonio men’s team has been on a losing streak at home.
The Jaguars faced the Bulldogs Nov. 21 with a defensive mindset to contest and get rebounds. But, the Jaguars couldn’t keep up on the offensive end.
The Jaguars were outscored early in the first half by 10 going into the half. The Jaguars struggled shooting and getting to the basket averaging 27.8% field goal attempts and shooting 10-36.
While there was potential for the Jaguars to make a comeback, the shots from the Jaguars were not going in with 12-30 attempts averaging 40% field goal attempts in the second half.
The Jaguars lost 59-72 against the Bulldogs.
Jaguars vs. Eagles on Nov. 23
In the Jaguars next home conference game, they took on the A&M-Texarkana Eagles. It was another competitive game for the men’s team facing another conference rival.
In the first half, the Jaguars held their own against the Eagles with a close score of 37-36 with a field goal percentage of 41.4% from shooting.
But the Jaguars couldn’t keep pace with A&M-Texarkana in the second half shooting 10-25 on a 36.4% field goal attempt, while the shot selection from the Jaguars was not working.
The Jaguars lost 77-66 against the Eagles and hold a record of 1-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
The next home game for the women’s basketball team is against Schreiner University Nov. 26 in the Student Recreation Center at 5:30 p.m.
The next home game for the men’s basketball team is against the College of Biblical Studies Nov. 26 in the Student Recreation Center at 7:30 p.m.
