LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International University women's basketball (5-4, 2-1 LSC) opened its home slate by collecting a 61-53 Lone Star Conference victory over the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas (1-4, 0-3 LSC) on Saturday afternoon.

TAMIU went on an 11-4 run to open the game that featured a pair of layups by Patrycja Jaworska  and was capped off at the 4:42 mark on a shot from downtown by Clara Fernandez. 

The Javelinas quickly responded by putting together six-straight points in a span of 3:08 that was ignited by a three-pointer by Daisah Purnell and concluded on a free throw by Jalynn Johnson to trim TAMIU's lead to one (11-10) with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter. 

Jaworska knocked down a pair of shots from the charity stripe to give the Dustdevils a three-point edge (13-10) to conclude the opening stanza.

Although the Dustdevils held the Javelinas scoreless through the first 3:53, TAMUK took a 10-3 run including back-to-back layups by Anastacia Mickens that were both dished out by Jalynn Johnson to knot the game at 20 apiece with 2:19 showing on the game clock.

TAMIU's Nicole Heyn responded with a layup but Mickens answered to send a 22-22 game into intermission.

The Javelinas came out strong in the third quarter as Ravae Payne registered two consecutive shots from beyond the arc in a span of 39 seconds to extend their lead to eight (32-25) with 7:11 left on the clock. 

The Dustdevils showed their resiliency as they erased an eight-point deficit in just 1:18 of game time including a three-point play that was converted by Fernandez to knot the game at 36 apiece with 2:17 remaining in the third period. The quarter would ultimately conclude tied at 38. 

TAMIU used a 7-5 run to open the fourth quarter. Jaworska registered all seven points on the run while Payne was responsible for all five Javelina points as the Dustdevils held a slim two-point lead (45-43) with 7:15 left to play.

Heyn would later knock down a pair of three-pointers in a span of 44 seconds to help give the Dustdevils a five-point advantage (53-48) with 5:52 remaining. 
 
Layups by Josselin Geer and Christine Ortega, respectively, ultimately helped settle the final and give the Dustdevils their fifth win of the season.

Jaworska (6-of-13 FG, 8-of-10 FT) finished with season highs of 21 points and eight boards while Heyn (8-of-17 FG) also finished with 21 points that featured a season-high four three-pointers. Ortega also logged career highs of eight rebounds and five steals en route to the victory.

Payne (8-of-14 FG, 5-of-5 FT) poured in a game-high 23 points while Mickens (4-of-9 FG) chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. 

In the end, Texas A&M International shot 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field, 18.2 percent (6-of-33) from three-point range and 65 percent (13-of-20) from the free-throw line while the Javelinas shot 40 percent (18-of-45) from the floor, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (12-of-19) from the charity stripe. The Dustdevils held the advantage in rebounds (35-26), blocks (2-1), steals (14-7) and assists (13-11).

The Dustdevils continue their three-game homestand on Thursday, December 19 in a LSC showdown against Western New Mexico (3-4, 0-3 LSC) at 5:30 p.m.