LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International University women's basketball (7-7, 4-4 LSC) dropped a 68-39 Lone Star Conference decision to the No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce Lions (14-0, 8-0 LSC) at home on Thursday evening.

In the opening 4:39, the Lions used a 10-2 run that was capped off on a layup by Desiray Kernal.

The Dustdevils battled back as they responded by compiling seven-straight points in a span of two minutes. Josselin Geer's shot from long distance ignited the run and Christine Ortega knocked down a pair of free throws and a layup, respectively, to slash the deficit to three (12-9) with 1:10 remaining in the first period.
 
Texas A&M-Commerce would later take a 13-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, TAMIU came out strong and converted on back-to-back layups by Julynne Da Silva Sa and Patrycja Jaworska, respectively, to knot the game at 13 apiece with 9:35 on the game clock. 

Dyani Robinson's layup at the 1:53 mark would give the Lions a five-point lead (25-20) heading into the break. 

In the third quarter, TAMUC stepped on the gas as they outscored the Dustdevils 23-5 including a 13-2 scoring spree that was ignited on a three-pointer by Robinson and was capped off on a jump shot by Maddison Glass that sent the 48-25 game to the final quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, Kernal sank a pair of free throws to extend Texas A&M-Commerce's lead to a game-high 34 points (64-30) with 2:42 left in regulation. 

The Lions would ultimately secure the 68-39 road victory. 

Ortega led the way for the Dustdevils and put together a team-high 11 points (4-of-8 FG) and brought down five boards. Jaworska, Da Silva Sa and Lindsey Thorpe (2-of-3 3FG) chipped in with six points apiece. In addition to the six points, Da Silva Sa swatted away a season-high three shots.

Robinson paced the Lions with 11 points (4-of-10 FG) while Alexus Jones put together nine points (3-of-6 FG) en route to the win.

In the end, Texas A&M International shot 30 percent (15-of-50) from the field, 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from three-point range and 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from the free-throw line while Texas A&M-Commerce shot 33.3 percent (23-of-69) from the floor, 5.3 percent (1-of-19) from beyond the arc and 75 percent (21-of-28) from the charity stripe. The Lions held the advantage in rebounds (50-29), steals (12-5) and assists (14-9) while each team rejected four shots. 

The Dustdevils remain at home for a LSC matchup on Saturday, January 11 against UT Tyler (2-10, 0-8 LSC) at 1 p.m.