DALLAS, Texas – Texas A&M International women's basketball surpassed its program best start of 8-1 set last season, improving to 9-1 with a 90-59 non-conference win over Texas A&M-Texarkana in the Dallas Christian College Christmas Classic.
 
The Dustdevils (9-1, 0-0 LSC) and Eagles played to a back and forth first quarter that ended tied at 19-19. TAMIU held the largest lead of four at 11-7 and A&M-Texarkana led by as many as three at 14-11.
 
The Dustdevils then dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Eagles 28-10 to take a 47-29 lead into the locker room.
 
TAMIU opened the second on a 16-0 run to take a 35-19 lead until A&M-Texarkana netted its first shot at 5:08 remaining. The Dustdevils lead eventually grew to as high as 19 with 1:07 remaining.
 
The third quarter resembled the first as both teams were even throughout with TAMIU taking a slight 19-18 edge to grow its lead to 66-47.
 
The final quarter was again all Dustdevils, outscoring the Eagles 24-12 to close the contest 90-59.
 
After an 8-1 run by A&M-Texarkana cut the lead to 12 points to open the quarter, TAMIU countered to outscore the Eagles 23-4 in the final 6:59.
 
The Dustdevils had a fantastic shooting day, going 36-for-71 (50.7%) from the floor and were 9-for-25 (36%) from deep, which included 5-for-11 behind the arc in the fourth. From the field, TAMIU shot 50% or better in each quarter.
 
On the other side, the Dustdevil defense limited the Eagles to 21-for-57 (36.8%) from the field and were 9-for-26 (34.6%) from three.
 
TAMIU dominated the paint, outscoring A&M-Texarkana 54-16 inside, 32-16 in points off turnovers, 39-6 in bench points and outrebounded the Eagles 43-32.
 
The Dustdevils had three players reach double figures, with sophomore Rai Brown leading the way with 27 points on 13-for-21 shooting from the floor to go alongside seven rebounds.
 
Fellow sophomore Emily Swiercz scored 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting and 3-for-6 from three, followed by senior Eva Langton who earned a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Graduate transfer Lena Yoonis was an all-around threat, with a line of six points, three rebounds, five assists, two blocks and seven steals.
 
TAMIU now prepares for the start of conference play, as they welcome Eastern New Mexico to Laredo for a New Year's Eve clash. Opening tip from the KCB is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 31.