TYLER, Texas - Texas A&M International women's basketball was unable to withstand strong second and third quarters by UT Tyler, falling to the Patriots 81-72 on Saturday.

Both teams battled early with the score sitting 8-8, but after TAMIU (12-14, 5-13 LSC) would fall behind 11-10, would score 10 of the last 14 points to hold a 20-15 lead going into the second. 

The second quarter opened with a UT Tyler run of 8-2 to take the lead, before the Patriots (21-4, 16-2 LSC) went on to lead 33-25.

The Dustdevils would use an 8-0 to tie the game yet again and TAMIU would head to the break down just 39-36.

The teams were trading baskets early in the third, but UT Tyler again utilized a run to now open an 11 point lead of 65-54 going into the fourth.

TAMIU saw the deficit grow to 20 over the first few minutes of the fourth, but managed to chip away and cut it to seven, but couldn't get any closer.

On the day, the Dustdevils shot 28-for-61 (45.9%) from the floor, 9-for-25 (36%) from deep and would capitalize on 7 of 8 free throw attempts. 

On the other side, the Patriots shot 31-for-59 (52.5%) from the field, 10-for-27 (37%) from three, and were 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Junior Rai Brown led the team with 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting offensively, adding five rebounds and four assists.

Fellow junior Emily Swiercz added 14 points and six rebounds, while freshman Angelique Morgan netted 10 points, six boards and four assists.

The Dustdevils finally return home on Thursday, Feb. 16 for a 6 p.m. tip against Cameron.