Jan. 24, 2009
Final Stats
Texas A&M International University bounced back from Thursday's disappointing loss at St. Mary's with a 72-69 Heartland Conference win over St. Edward's on Saturday afternoon in Austin. The result, combined with St. Mary's win over Incarnate Word this afternoon, puts the Dustdevils alone in second place in the Heartland Conference with a 4-1 league mark.
There were 11 lead changes in the back-and-forth contest. St. Edward's (8-10, 2-3 Heartland) led by as many as eight points and TAMIU (7-11, 4-1) as many as five points in the first half. The Hilltoppers ended the period with a 4-0 run to stake a 36-33 halftime lead.
The game was close throughout the second half as well with neither team going up more than three points until Mary Tobias pushed the Dustdevils to a 70-65 lead with two free throws at the 1:21 mark. SEU would score the next four points to cut the lead to one point but Tobias made two more free throws with 14 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 72-69. The Hilltoppers had a chance for a tying shot but Kelli Payton missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer allowing the Dustdevils to put the game in the win column.
Tobias led the Dustdevils with 18 points, connecting on four 3-pointers. Valerie Villanueva contributed 17 points and Chevelle Hoyle finished with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
TAMIU connected on nine of 26 3-pointers as a team while allowing zero treys for the Hilltoppers on six attempts. The Dustdevils also forced 30 turnovers, marking the sixth time this season the opponent has committed 30-plus turnovers.
TAMIU returns to action for Heartland Conference action next Thursday at Newman. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.