Box Score
LAREDO, Texas – The best start in program history has reached a new high, as Texas A&M International won its third straight game to start the 2013-14 season 3-0 on the same day that its senior shooting guard was named Heartland Conference Player of the Week.
Samantha Chacon, a senior from El Paso, Texas, earned the weekly individual honor by averaging 22 points, 3.5 rebounds and four assists per game leading into the Dustdevils' Monday night matchup against Eastern New Mexico State at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building. TAMIU won that game 69-59.
Chacon cool slightly versus the Zias, scoring just eight points on 3-for-10 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 from the 3-point line, but she dealt a game- and season-high six assists. She went 2-for-4 from the free throw line and pulled in three rebounds in the win.
A trio of Dustdevils picked up Chacon's slim falloff, though. Seniors Malika Jackson (17 points), and Tina Dang (16) joined sophomore Jessica Prieto (11) in scoring a double-digit total. Jackson completed her second double-double in three games, pulling in 10 rebounds.
Junior guard Alexis Thomas also reeled in 10 boards while scoring four points.
The Dustdevils opened a massive 19-point lead to start the second half before loosening their full-court press on the Zias around the 15-minute mark. ENMU bullied TAMIU in the paint, scoring 30 points – eight more than the Dustdevils – but TAMIU's speed and athleticism proved the difference. TAMIU soared with 17 points off second-chance plays – seven more than the visitors.
As a team, the Dustdevils flared with a 42.1 field goal percentage and a 34.8 percentage from long range, but it was TAMIU's resilience off the boards – completing nine more rebounds – that created the winning chances.
The Dustdevils (3-0, 0-0 Heartland) return to the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building on Saturday to host Oklahoma Christian in the Heartland Conference opener at 2 p.m. TAMIU has beaten the Eagles in the only two previous matchups, but they were closely contested with the margin standing at 143-139.
