LAREDO, Texas – The Angelo State Belle basketball team played their hearts in the final game of the 2020-21 regular season against the Texas A& International Dustdevils, but fell in the final minutes of the second half, 75-72.
 
Texas A&M International quickly took a 8-1 lead in the beginning of the first quarter over Angelo State, but a jumper from Madeline Stephens cut the Belles their deficit to five with 7:03 left on the clock, 8-3. For the next three minutes, the Dustdevil were able to keep the Belles from scoring while growing their lead to nine before a three pointer from Lana Marov brought ASU to trail by six, 14-8.
 
A layup and two free throws from Sadie Misner cut the Belles deficit to just two points, but the Dustdevils made a final second layup to take a lead of four leading into the second quarter, 16-12.
 
The Belles came back with a vengeance in the second quarter, with Stephens making a fast break layup and a jumper to tie the game at 16-16 with 9:14 left in the first half. A three pointer from Marov gave the Belles their first lead of the night, 19-16, with Samantha Rocha and Madisen Honea extending Angelo States lead to seven on a layup and a made three pointer, 24-17.
 
The Dustdevils cut the Belles lead to five several times throughout the period, but a layup from Aleesha Orange and Marov each, plus two free throws from Stephens kept the Belles at a seven point lead, 30-23. A jump shot from Lloyd and a three pointer from Honea brought ASUs lead into the double digits as Angelo State led the Dustdevils by 10 with 2:51 left in the first half, 35-25.
 
Two free throws from Marov and a jumper from Lloyd gave the Belles their biggest lead of the night at 13, 41-28, but the Dustdevils managed to cut their deficit back to 10 on a layup and a made free throw, 41-31. Stephens ended the half for the Belles, driving into the paint and scoring a layup to bring the Belles lead to 12 before the clock ran out, 43-31.
 
Lloyd kicked the third quarter off for the Belles, sinking a three pointer to bring the Blue and Golds lead back to 13 over TAMIU, 46-33, with 9:19 left on the clock. The Dustdevils once again kept the Belles from scoring once again for two minutes and cutting their lead to single digits again, 46-38, but a three pointer from Lloyd brought ASU to an 11 point lead over TAMIU, 49-38.
 
Misner sank another three pointer to extend the Belles lead back to 12 after the Dustdevils made two free throws, 52-40. Several three pointers and free throws brought TAMIUs deficit to five points, 53-48, but a free throw from Stephens and a three pointer from Honea extended the Belles lead to seven, 57-50.
 
Rocha sank a jumper, while Misner sank a free throw to bring ASUs lead back to 10 with 2:00 left in the third quarter, 60-50, but TAMIU made two free throws to trail the Belles by eight leading into the fourth quarter, 60-52.
 
The Dustdevils cut the Belles lead down to six several times, but two layups from Lloyd and Rocha brought the Blue and Golds lead back to eight over Texas A&M International, 62-54. The Dustdevils snak a three pointer and a layup to cu the Belles lead to three with 4:58 left in the game, but a layup from Stephens in the paint brought ASUs lead up to five, 65-61.
 
TAMIU managed to cut their deficit to just one point, 66-65, but Lloyd was fouled and sent to the free throw line where she sank two free throws to bring the Belles lead back to three over the Dustdevils, 68-65. In the last two minutes of the game, the Dustdevils managed to tie the game at 68-68, taking the lead from the Belles on a layup, 70-68. A fast break layup from Lloyd in the paint tied the game again at 70-70, but TAMIU made a layup and sank two free throws to take a four point lead over ASU, 74-70, with 53 seconds left in the game.
 
Misner managed to score a layup to cut the Belles deficit to two, but the Dustdevils managed to hold onto the lead as the Belles valiant comeback came to a close as TAMIU sank a free throw with five seconds left to take the game, 75-72.
 
Key Players:

• Lloyd led the Belles offensively against the Dustdevils, scoring 18 points and shooting 71-15 from the field, 2-6 from beyond the arch, and 2-2 from the free throw line. Lloyd led the Belles on defense as well, grabbing nine board, three offensive and six defensive, while grabbing six assists and two steals to end the night.
• Misner and Stephens both followed Lloyd on offense, each Belle scoring 13 points. Misner shot 4-11 from the field, 1-5 from the three point line, and 4-6 from the free throw line, while Stephens shot 5-8 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line. Misner grabbed two defensive rebounds, four assists and one steal, while Stephens grabbed six rebounds, two offensive and four defensive, five assists and a steal.