Taylor Mahan scored eight points, Chloe Stovall, Kenadi McGrath and Coral Sparger had seven each and Baylee Burrow added six to provide a balanced scoring effort for De Leon (15-11, 1-1), which needed the win to avoid an 0-2 league start.
Hico, which got a game-high 14 points from Lauryl Stegall and nine from Luna Wilson, dropped to 19-4 and 1-1. The Lady Tigers missed multiple shots down the stretch that could have been difference makers, only to see De Leon execute when it needed to.