COMMERCE, Texas – After a humbling defeat on the road to UT Tyler, Texas A&M International women's basketball had a tough test against #7/#10 Texas A&M-Commerce, but in the end it was the Lions coming out on top 88-72.
 
The first quarter was mostly even, with TAMIU (12-6, 3-4 LSC) leading 5-4 at the media timeout and tied 12-12 late, but a 5-0 TAMUC (17-2, 6-2 LSC) run made it 17-12 at the end.
 
In the second quarter, the Lions exploded for 26 points and forced Dustdevil turnovers to take a 43-27 lead into the locker room.
 
TAMIU came out of the break with a flurry, cutting the deficit to 49-39 at the third quarter media timeout, but TAMUC managed a 20-9 run down the stretch to open a 69-48 lead.
 
The Dustdevils continued to shoot hot in the fourth quarter, making 8-of-14 shots from the floor and 6-for-8 from three, but the Lions would respond to every TAMIU run and despite being outscored by the Dustdevils 24-19, TAMUC took home the victory.
 
In the defeat, TAMIU shot 24-for-51 (47.1%) from the floor and 13-for-22 (59.1%) from three, as well as 11-for-15 from the foul line. In the second half alone, the Dustdevils shot 16-for-27 (59.2%) from the field and 9-for-12 (75%) from deep. Turnovers were the main flaw for TAMIU, committing 27 in the game.
 
On the other side, the Lions shot 35-for-77 (45.5%) from the floor and 8-for-25 from three (34.6%), but only turned the ball over 15 times and out-rebounded the Dustdevils 38-33.
 
Freshman Silvia Blanco once again led TAMIU with a career day, scoring a career-high 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and 6-for-8 from three.
 
Fellow freshmen Audry Hornaday and Evelyn Quiroz followed with 12 points each. Hornaday added five rebounds and six assists as Quiroz chipped in four rebounds.
 
Two more freshmen, Vanessa Herrera and Sophia Haberer came off the bench to contribute nine points each. Herrera went 3-for-3 from three and Haberer included five rebounds and three assists to the stat sheet.
 
Despite an 0-2 road trip, TAMIU will now put the losses in the rearview, as they now return home for two games this coming week. The first matchup takes place Thursday, Feb. 3 against St. Mary's. Opening tip is slated for 5:30 p.m. from the KCB.