LAREDO, Texas – Despite hitting 16 threes for the game, Texas A&M International women's basketball was unable to fend off UT Tyler, falling to the Patriots 77-69.
 
It was all UT Tyler (14-2, 9-0 LSC) early, jumping out to an 11-0 lead over the first 5:06.
 
However, TAMIU (11-6, 4-5 LSC) would outscore the Patriots 15-8 the remainder of the quarter to trail just 19-15 heading into the second.
 
UT Tyler would regain a double-digit lead by as many as 13, using a 12-3 run to open the second, and would hold a 40-28 lead at the half.
 
The Dustdevils would begin chipping away in the third quarter, cutting the deficit down to single digits, before taking the lead with 1:19 remaining, but would slightly trail entering the fourth, 56-54.
 
Just nine seconds into the fourth, TAMIU regained the lead, 57-56, but the Patriots again used a big run, this time a 17-3 run to reopen a 73-60 lead.
 
The Dustdevils would get that deficit back to 73-69 with a 9-0 run of their own with 1:57 remaining, but UT Tyler would hold on for the win.
 
For the game, TAMIUnshot 41.4% (24-for-58) from the floor, and took a season high 37 threes, making 16, a 43.2% clip. From the charity stripe, the Dustdevils went 5-for-8 (62.5%).
 
On the other side, the Patriots shot 52% (26-for-50) from the field, 8-for-26 (30.8%) from three and were 17-for-20 at the charity stripe.
 
Sophomore Barbara Turkalj was the leading scorer of the bench, scoring 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting and 5-for-6 from three to go alongside a team high seven rebounds and three assists.
 
Freshman Meli Hornedo was a record breaker, netting a program record eight threes to collect all 24 of her points, that went with nine assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Junior Rai Brown was the third Dustdevil in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
 
TAMIU closes out its four game home stand with a matchup against #8/#12 Texas Woman's on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. inside the KCB.