LAREDO, Texas – The St. Edward’s women’s basketball team lost to Texas A&M-International, 59-54, Thursday evening at the Kinesiology Building.

St. Edward’s (4-17, 1-6 HC) held a 40-32 lead with 10:56 remaining before TAMU-International (11-10, 3-4 HC) responded with a 17-5 run over the next five minutes to take back control of the conference contest, 49-45. The Dustdevils would hold the lead the rest of the way.

Monica James (Melissa, Texas/Melissa HS) led the Hilltoppers with 12 points scored before fouling out, while Kelsee Barr (Dallas, Texas/Lake Dallas HS) chipped in with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Hilltoppers will be back in action Saturday when they travel to take on St. Mary’s. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena. Live coverage will be available on the Hilltopper and Rattler Athletic Websites.

As a member of NCAA Division II and the Heartland Conference, St. Edward’s, has captured 46 conference titles, advanced to the NCAA tournament 48 times and has produced 30 All-Americans and 24 Academic All-Americans since 1999.

Founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross, St. Edward's University is named among the top five "Up-and-Coming Universities" in the Western Region by its academic peers in a 2011 U.S. News & World Report survey. For eight consecutive years St. Edward's has been recognized as one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report. St. Edward’s has also been named one of “America’s Best Colleges” by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability.

St. Edward's is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university of more than 5,400 students located in Austin, Texas. For more information on St. Edward’s University, visit http://www.stedwards.edu/athletics.