LAREDO, Texas – The Angelo State Belle basketball team fought hard against the Dustdevils, but the division leader defeated the Belles on their home court, 78-64.
 
The Belles quickly took a 7-0 lead over the Dustdevils, with Sadie Misner making a jumper, Lana Marov making a layup on a steal from Sawyer Lloyd, and Madeline Stephens sinking a three pointer with 8:20 left in the quarter. The Dustdevils quickly recovered and scored three layups and two free throws to take a one point lead over the Belles, 8-7.
 
 After Stephens three pointer, Angelo State didn't score for almost six minutes while Texas A&M International grew their lead to 11 over the Blue and Gold, 18-7, until a jumper from Misner cut their deficit to single digits again at 18-9. Two layups from Lloyd and Stephens cut the Dustdevils lead to seven once again at 20-13, but a free from Stephens would end the quarter for the Belles as time ran out before the Belles could make another shot, 22-14.
 
TAMIU quickly grew their lead to 14 with a made layup and two sunken free throws to take a 14 point lead over the Belles early in the second quarter, 28-14, but a three pointer from Lloyd and a layup from Aleesha Orange cut the Blue and Golds deficit to nine, 28-19. The Dustdevils sank a three and two layups to grow their lead to 16, but a jump shot from Stephens, a layup from Orange, a free throw from Lloyd, and a layup from Marov once again cut the lead down to nine, 35-26.
 
The Dustdevils made a layup to grow their lead to double digits again, but a three pointer made by Lloyd ended the first half as the Belles trailed by eight leading into the third quarter, 37-29.
 
Texas A&M International rapidly grew their lead to 13 off of a made three pointer and a jump shot with 8:32 left in the third quarter, 42-29. Stephens sank a three pointer to cut their lead to 10, but the Dustdevils answered with a three of their own, along with a layup, to take a 15 point lead over the Belles, 47-32.
 
A layup from Orange and a jump shot from Lloyd cut their deficit to 11, but the Dustdevils once again answered quickly and scored two made free throws and a layup to lead by 15 again, 51-36. A layup from Lloyd and a made three from Stephens brought ASU within 10 points of the Dustdevils lead once again, but TAMIU scored two layups back to back to extend their lead to 14 over ASU, 55-41.
 
The Dustdevils managed to grow their lead to 21 over Angelo State, but a jump shot from Lloyd in the paint cut the Blue and Golds deficit to 19 before the clock ran out in the third quarter, 64-45.
 
A jump shot from Samantha Rocha cut the deficit even further to 17 with 9:29 left in the half, 64-47, where neither team scored for the next minute and a half before the Dustdevils made two layups to take a 21 point lead over ASU again, 68-47. A layup from Marov, a layup from Stephens, and a free throw from Orange cut the lead down to 15, 68-53.
 
The Belles made a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter, but the Dustdevils, who lead the South Division of the Lone Star Conference, proved too much for the Belles as TAMIU defeated Angelo State, 78-64.
 
Key Players:

• Stephens led the Belles offensively against the Dustdevils, scoring 18 points and shooting 7-16 from the field, 3-6 from beyond the arch, and 1-2 from the free throw line. Stephens also led the Belles defense, grabbing 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, grabbing three offensive boards and 10 defensive boards, registering one assist, three blocks, and one steal to end the night.
• Sawyer Lloyd followed closely behind Stephens on offense, scoring 16 points while shooting 6-14 from the field, 2-5 from beyond the arch, and 2-4 from the free throw line. Lloyd grabbed three rebounds, two offensive and one defensive, while registering 10 assists, one block, and three steals against the Dustdevils.
• Lana Marov scored 10 points for the Belles, shooting 4-9 from the field and 2-5 from the three point line. Marov grabbed five rebounds against TAMIU, one offensive and four defensive, whilst grabbing one steal.

 
Up Next:
The Belles wrap up regular season play as they play the second game against the Texas A&M International Dustdevils in Laredo on Saturday, February 27. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.