CORPUS CHRISTI – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's basketball team beat Texas A&M Universty-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) 68-65 in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, on Saturday at Dugan Wellness Center.
 
The win cut's TAMUCC's (3-4) lead in the showdown standings to 15-14, with the next event coming on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. when these two teams hold a rematch at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Senior Shawnte' Goff led UTRGV (5-3) with 17 points while going 9-for-10 from the line. Sophomore Bernesha Peters scored 16 points with three steals. Senior Mary Savoy scored 13 points with eight rebounds.
 
Emma Young led TAMUCC with 16 points and seven rebounds. Camesha Davis recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ashanti Plummer scored 10 points with five rebounds.
 
TAMUCC scored the first seven points of the game, but with the score 12-6 late in the first quarter, Peters hit a layup to spark a 7-0 run and give UTRGV its first lead at 13-12.
 
A pair of Brianna Jackson jumpers allowed TAMUCC to take an 18-13 lead, but Peters and sophomore Weslaco alum Angela Villarreal knocked down three-pointers to sandwich a Young free throw and tie the game.
 
Then, after a Young jumper put TAMUCC up 23-21, Savoy hit two layups to power an 8-0 run and put UTRGV up 29-23 late in the second quarter.
 
TAMUCC scored 11 of the next 13 points to to go up 34-31 early in the third, put Peters hit a three and a layup as UTRGV scored seven-straight to take a 38-34 lead.
 
Later in the third, with UTRGV's lead cut to 45-44, Savoy hit two free throws and senior Lile Havili converted a three-point play to push the lead out to 50-44.
 
The lead was still six at the start of the fourth after a Goff jumper, but a Young three-point play allowed TAMUCC to score six-straight and tie the game.
 
The game was tied at 63 with 2:51 to play, but Goff hit two free throws and Havili made a layup to push the game out of reach.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Thursday at 7 p.m. when it visits Oklahoma.

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