LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International women's basketball took #8/#12 Texas Woman's to the brink, but in the end, the Pioneers pulled out the victory 66-60.

In the first quarter, TAMIU (11-7, 4-6 LSC) was the aggressor, holding the edge throughout, including a 17-10 lead with 3:20 remaining.

Over the remainder of the first quarter and the fir 1:15 of the second, Texas Woman's used an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game and at halftime the score sat at 26-26.

Out of the break, the Pioneers used 10-4 run to open a 36-30 lead over the first 5:10, but the Dustdevils used a 10-2 run to regain the lead with 1:41 left in the third. However, Texas Woman's would score the final five points to lead 43-40 entering the fourth.

The Pioneers run would continue, as the lead grew to 52-42 with 6:43 remaining in the contest, but over the next 3:05, TAMIU would use a 13-2 run to regain the lead at 55-54 with 3:48 remaining.

Unfortunately for the Dustdevils, the game of runs continued, and Texas Woman's would use an 8-0 run to reopen a seven-point, 62-55 lead and hold on to avoid an upset minded TAMIU.

The Dustdevils shot 24-for-63 (38.1%) from the floor on the afternoon and were 9-for-29 (31%) from behind the arc.

On the other side, the Pioneers finished 19-for-55 (34.5%) form the field and were 11-for-29 (37.9%) from deep.

A big factor in the game was the difference in opportunities from the foul line. TAMIU would take only five shots from the stripe and made three, while Texas Woman's took 24 free-throw attempts and made 17.

Junior Rai Brown led the Dustdevils offensively with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go alongside five rebounds.

Making her first start of the season, sophomore Barbara Turkalj had another strong game, stating a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Junior Clara Fernandez was another contributor, filling the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block.

After rounding out four straight games at home, TAMIU takes to the road and visits New Mexico for a pair this upcoming week. Eastern New Mexico is the first opponent and opening tip on Thursday, Jan. 19 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST/5:30 p.m. MST.