AUSTIN, Texas – Texas A&M International women's basketball extended its win streak to four games with a 62-54 win over St. Edward's in its return to action on Friday.
 
TAMIU (9-4, 2-3 LSC) was the early aggressor taking a 15-6 lead in the first, after utilizing a 9-0 run when the game was tied at 6-6 and would ultimately lead 18-10 going into the second.
 
The Dustdevils still held the lead at halftime, by seven, 28-21, after St. Edward's outscored TAMIU 11-10 in the second half.
 
Out of the half, the Hilltoppers (6-7, 2-3 LSC) used a 6-0 run to open the third, cutting the lead to 28-27, but it was 22-11 Dustdevils the rest of the way to lead 50-38.
 
In the fourth, St. Edward's would cut the deficit to 54-51, but TAMIU held on to outscore the Hilltoppers 8-3 over the final 2:43 to seal the victory.
 
For the game, the Dustdevils shot 38.9% (21-for-54) from the floor, but were just 2-for-13 (15.4%) from deep. Free-throw shooting was tremendous, as TAMIU hit 18 of 22 attempts.
 
On the other side, the Hilltoppers shot 40.7% (22-for-54) from the field, 4-for-14 (28.6%) from three and were 6-for-11 at the charity stripe.
 
Junior's Rai Brown was the team leader offensively with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, alongside six rebounds and two blocks.
 
Fellow junior Emily Swiercz followed with 13 points, a pair of rebounds and assists, and five steals defensively, while junior Mariha Bakic scored 11 to go along with five rebounds.
 
The Dustdevils return to action on New Year's Day, Sunday, Jan. 1 for a 1 p.m. tip against St. Mary's in San Antonio, Texas.