SAN ANTONIO, Texas  –  Texas A&M International University women's basketball (0-19, 0-7 Heartland Conference) dropped a 72-35 road decision to the St. Mary's University Rattlers (15-6, 5-4 Heartland Conference) on Thursday evening. The Dustdevils now move to 2-5 against the Rattlers since the 2015-16 season.  

The Dustdevils erased an early five-point deficit in 21 seconds as Alliyah Bryant knocked down a shot from long distance and was quickly followed by a pair of free throws by Kendall Alsup to tie the game at nine apiece with 2:35 showing on the first quarter clock. The Rattlers responded by compiling a 5-0 spurt to end the opening stanza with a 14-9 lead.

In the second quarter, Troi Lucas found Vanessa Oyola for a three-pointer with 6:27 remaining that brought TAMIU to within eight (20-12). Following the bucket by Oyola, St. Mary's took a 13-0 run that featured seven points scored by Arysia Porter to send a 33-12 game into the break.  

In the third quarter the Rattlers stepped on the gas as they connected on four shots from downtown including one by Soteria Banks (9:32), one by Kaitlin Walla (6:34) and a pair by Porter (7:28 and 5:12) to add to their lead. St. Mary's would ultimately stretch their lead to 37 at the end of three quarters (55-18).

Oyola connected on a three-pointer to break the fourth quarter scoring ice and cut the deficit to 34 (55-21). The Rattlers would fight back and take their largest lead of the game with 2:26 left to play on a layup by Porter that extended their lead to 40 (72-32).

Oyola led the Dustdevils as she recorded a team-high nine points that all came from beyond the arc (3-of-7 3FG). Ortega also finished with eight points (4-of-10 FG) and a team-high seven boards.

For the Rattlers, Porter concluded the night with a double-double including a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds while adding a game-high six assists to her statline.

In the end, Texas A&M International shot 25 percent (12-of-48) from the field, 19 percent (4-of-21) from three-point range and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the free-throw line while the Rattlers shot  36.7 percent (29-of-79) from the floor, 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the charity stripe. St. Mary's held the advantage in rebounds (55-34), steals (11-7) and assists (20-6) while the Dustdevils led the way in blocks (5-2). The Dustdevils also scored seven second-chance points off six offensive rebounds.

The Dustdevils conclude their three-game Heartland Conference road trip in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday, February 9 for a matchup against Lubbock Christian University (18-4, 8-0 Heartland Conference) at 1 p.m.