ODESSA, Texas (December 13, 2025) – After winning two of its first three Lone Star Conference games of the season, the UT Permian Basin women's basketball team finished its final conference game of 2025 with another win as the Falcons scored 27 points in the fourth quarter to surpass Texas A&M International University 77-71 on Saturday afternoon inside the Falcon Dome.

The Falcons are now two games above .500 overall (6-4) for the first time this year and wrap up the Fall portion of their schedule with a 3-1 start in Lone Star Conference play.

UTPB had four players in double-figure scoring for the first time this season as Madison Walters led the way with 14 points off the bench, including eight points in the fourth quarter. She was 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from three.

Walters was followed by Kenadi Rising with 13 points, Jasmin Holt with 12 and Mikalah Buckley with 10. Rising led all players five assists and matched Walters with a 2-for-2 mark from three while Holt led all players with three steals and matched Walters with six made field goals (6-11).

Tied at 18-18 at the start of the second quarter, UTPB used the fastbreak to try and take control as a transition 3-pointer by Ja'Nya Thomas made it 23-22 Falcons and was followed by back-to-back fastbreak layups, both assisted by Thomas, to push the lead to five points (27-22). A second straight fastbreak layup by Juliet Esomchukwu was the fourth straight fastbreak score for the Falcons and made it a six-point lead (29-23) three minutes into the period.

UTPB outscored TAMIU 12-6 on points in the paint and 9-4 on fastbreak points in the second quarter, but the story of the first half for the Dustdevils was offensive rebounds and free throws. Despite the Falcons shooting over 50 percent in each of the first two quarters, the Dustdevils led at the half thanks to a 9-5 advantage on the offensive glass and a 13-2 scoring lead on second chance points. The Dustdevils also shot 21 free throws in the first half (13-21) compared to just four (4-4) for the Falcons, who committed eight fouls in each of the first two quarters.

The Dustdevils would take a four-point lead (40-36) into the half after gathering six offensive rebounds and 10 seconds chance points in the second quarter. TAMIU would then start the second half with two more second chance points after an offensive rebound on the very first possession of the half led to a pair of free throws to make it 42-36.

TAMIU's 6-foot-4 center, Racheal Emmanuel, terrorized the Falcons with two three-point plays in the third quarter, and added her seventh point of the quarter with a free throw with one minute left, which made it an eight-point Dustdevils' advantage (58-50) going into the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer by Rising two minutes into the final period started a 7-0 UTPB run that saw the Falcons draw to within one (61-60) after a fastbreak layup by Holt with just under six and a half minutes to go.

UTPB was unable to take the lead at the time as another offensive rebound by TAMIU led to two more free throws to make it 63-60 with six minutes left. Then down 65-60 after a layup by Emmanuel just before the halfway point in the fourth quarter, Walters hit her first of two 3-pointers in the quarter to make it 65-63with just under five minutes remaining.

With 4:19 remaining, a 3-pointer by Jonesha Neal put the Falcons back in front 66-65, their first lead since 36-35 with two minutes left in the first half.

There would be two more lead changes and two ties over the next three minutes, and tied 71-71 approaching the final minute of the game, Walters made her biggest impact on the game with a go-ahead 3-pointer.

TAMIU would miss a jumper on its next possession with 40 seconds left, and then with UTPB trying to run the clock down on its ensuing possession, Rising made an aggressive move into the paint, drew the contact and scored the and-one to make it a two-score game (77-71) with only 12 seconds left.

In the decisive fourth quarter, UTPB made 10 of its 15 shots (66.67 percent) from the field and made five of its six 3-pointers.

In the end, UTPB shot over 50 percent in three of the fourth quarters, and held TAMIU to 5-for-12 shooting in both the third and fourth quarters. The Falcons also limited the Dustdevils to just three free throws attempts on three fouls in the fourth quarter.

It was the second game in a row the Falcons shot over 50 percent from the field after doing so for the first time this season on Thursday, and it was the second game in a row UTPB set a season-high in made 3-pointers, sinking eight shots from long range this time around.

UTPB Head Women's Basketball Coach Rae Boothe said after the hard-fought game, "Give credit to TAMIU, they play very hard and have some athletes. I thought we handled their pressure pretty well and took care of the ball for the most part. Our defense was not great today. Usually that's where we get our momentum, but that wasn't the case, and as a result, we gave away a lot of points at the free throw line. Fortunately, our players made big shots down the stretch. In particular, Madison Walters' three. That was the biggest shot of the game. Our shooting percentages were very good in comparison to where we started. I'm looking forward to us carrying those percentages forward and being the defensive team we have shown we can be. If we can play well on both ends of the floor, we will be pretty special."

The Falcons will host two nonconference games next week before their Holiday Break begins. The Falcons will play Arlington Baptist University at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 16, followed by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs at 2 p.m. on Saturday, December 20, inside the Falcon Dome.