AUSTIN, Texas – Texas A&M International University women's basketball (7-10, 4-7 LSC) fell 67-52 on Saturday afternoon in Lone Star Conference play on the road to the St. Edward's Hilltoppers (11-5, 7-4 LSC).

The Hilltoppers took an early 13-5 advantage in the opening 6:24. During the run, Sammie Dufek registered six points while D'aviyon Magazine dished out four quick assists. 

TAMIU put some pressure on St. Edward's by scoring the next eight-straight points. The spurt was ignited at the 3:22 mark when Clara Fernandez found Eva Langton who finished a layup through contact and completed a three-point play. Jaden Gonzales would later knock down a shot from long distance and Christine Ortega dropped in a layup to conclude the deadlocked first period at 13 apiece. 

The Dustdevils carried their momentum into the second quarter as Patrycja Jaworska stole the ball from Magazine and finished a layup to extend their lead to four (17-13) with 8:20 remaining. 

Later in the period, Julynne Da Silva Sa got into a rhythm and scored the next three baskets for TAMIU including a pair of layups and a jumper to give them a 29-27 edge with 2:26 showing on the game clock. 

Deijah Blanks responded for the Hilltoppers as she finished a layup to cap off her eight-point quarter. Catherine Kaiser then found Haley Blankinship beyond the arc to give St. Edward's a slim three-point lead (32-29) heading into intermission. 

Jaworska and Fernandez dropped in layups, respectively, to start the third period and give TAMIU a 33-32 edge with 8:32 remaining.  

The Hilltoppers used a 7-2 run to close out the third quarter that featured five points by Blankinship to give them a 51-46 lead.  

In the final quarter, St. Edward's would step on the gas and compiled an 11-2 run that was capped off on a three-pointer by Magazine to extend their lead to a dozen points (62-50) with 4:14 left in regulation.
  
The Hilltoppers would later extend their lead to a game-high 15 points as Fairen Sutton sank a shot from the charity stripe to settle the 67-52 final. 

Jaworska led the Dustdevils with 11 points while posting five rebounds and a trio of steals. Gonzales finished with nine points and connected on a season-high three shots from downtown. Fernandez registered team highs of six rebounds and four steals.

Blanks paced the Hilltoppers and led all scorers with 18 points (6-of-12 FG, 6-of-9 FT) and pulled down eight rebounds. Sammie Duffek finished with eight points (4-of-4 FG) while securing game highs of 12 boards and four blocks. Magazine, Christina Mason and Lexi Cunningham (3-of-4 3FG) compiled nine points apiece. 

In the end, Texas A&M International shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field, 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from three-point range and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the free-throw line while St. Edward's shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the floor, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from beyond the arc and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the charity stripe. The Hilltoppers held the advantage in rebounds (37-34), blocks (10-0), steals (12-10) and assists (13-9). 

TAMIU returns home on Thursday, January 23 and will host a LSC tilt against Eastern New Mexico (11-4, 5-4 LSC) at 1 p.m.