Box Score Laredo, Texas - Texas A&M Internatinal University falls to Texas A&M Kingsville University this Saturday with a score of 69-52. This loss comes after the Dustdevils had a 6 game winning streak (home & away). After defeating A&M Kingsville at their home this past Tuesday (73-71), the Javelinas came back with a vengeance. 

A&M International found out very quickly how aggressive the Javelinas came to play after they scored three 3-pointers in a row off the Dustdevil defense after just a few minutes into the first quarter. A&M International held off the advancement to end the first quarter tied at just 11-11. However, the Javelinas were able to pull away from the Dustdevils from the third quarter and on with a shooting percentage of 40.3% in field goals (FG), 31.6% in three pointers (3PT), and 86.7% in free throws (FT). The Javelinas had a nearly 11% increase is shots made for FG and 8% increase in 3PT made compared to the Dustdevils. For both the 2nd and 3rd quarters, A&M International tried to bridge the 10-11 point gap against the A&M Kingsville with capitalizing on turnovers and three pointers, but lost steam along the way as most of the starters nearly played the entirety of the game. This loss drops Texas A&M International's standing to 5-4 in the Lone Star Conference and overall 8-7.

The leading scorer for Texas A&M Kingsville was Kaylee Howell with 19 total points accumulating from 8-out-of-13 field goals and 3-for-5 free throws. Her competitive approach proved challenging for the Dustdevil posts throughout the game and gained a total of 6 rebounds.

The Dustdevils' most impactful players were Jayden Smallwood scoring 13 PTS on the board, 6 rebounds (RB) and hitting 3 out of 4 FT, Racheal Emmanuel scoring 12 PTS, 9 RB, and hitting 6 for 6 of her FT, and Carmen Morcillo scoring 9 PTS and hitting 3 out of 8 3-pointers. 

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Jayden Smallwood, Junior, comes to Laredo from Tulsa, Oklahoma and is the daughter of Gene and Shannon Smallwood. She's the role model of four younger siblings and is pursuing her degree in Kinesiology.

Smallwood led the team as their highest scorer and played a total of 39 minutes. This comes as she had to step up as the team's point guard, since the Dustdevils' starting point guard (#30 Angelique Morgan) recovers from an injury. Even with the accumulation of 4 fouls throughout the game, Smallwood played intelligently to stay in the game and continue leading her teammates. 

You can find the next Dustdevil women's basketball game on January 22nd at 5:30 p.m. CT. at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building.