LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International women's basketball bounced back and re-entered the win column in Lone Star Conference play with a 76-64 win over St. Mary's.
 
The first quarter was dominated by the Dustdevils (13-6, 4-4 LSC) as the closed the opening 10 minutes with a 20-4 lead after holding the Rattlers (2-17, 1-7 LSC) to just 1-for-10 shooting.
 
The TAMIU lead expanded in the second quarter, again outscoring St. Mary's 17-11 to take a 37-15 lead into the locker room.
 
After shooting 6-for-21 in the first half, the Rattlers began to shoot the ball much better, beginning in the third quarter, outscoring the Dustdevils 27-22 to trim the deficit to 59-42.
 
After trimming the lead to 15, St. Mary's allowed TAMIU to go on a 9-0 run and fall back behind by 24 points with the Dustdevils leading 68-44 with 6:46 left in the fourth.
 
Unfortunately for TAMIU, the Rattlers came storming back, using a 17-2 run to trim the lead to 70-61, but the Dustdevils closed the game on an 8-3 run for the victory.
 
In the win, TAMIU shot 26-for-56 (46.4%) from the floor and 5-for-16 (31.3%) from three, as well as 19-for-30 from the foul line.
 
On the other side, St. Mary's shot 24-for-56 (42.9%) from the floor and 13-for-31 from three (34.6%). The Rattlers only attempted six free-throws and made three.
 
Sophomore Rai Brown was the leading scorer on the night, with 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting, along with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals
 
Freshman Evelyn Quiroz followed with a career-high 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting and 3-for-4 from three, to go with three rebounds, three assists and five steals.
 
Sophomore Clara Fernandez had an all-around spectacular game, coming one steal shy of a triple-double, scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and nine steals, while senior Eva Langton also had a loaded stat line with eight points, four rebounds, six assists, two blocks and four steals.
 
The Dustdevils as a team forced 30 turnovers and 24 of the 30 were steals. They also outscored the Rattlers 42-16 in the paint and 28-14 in points off turnovers.
 
TAMIU now looks to cap off the home series with another victory on Saturday, Feb. 5 when the host St. Edward's. Opening tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.