HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros women's basketball team defeated the University of Houston Cougars for the first time in program history after picking up the 55-45 victory on Sunday at Hofheinz Pavilion.
 
Junior Shawnte' Goff led the Vaqueros (7-6) with a game-high 16 points while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds and senior Rickell Preston added nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Serithia Hawkins paced the Cougars (4-7) with a double-double after scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tyler Gilbert added 12 points and three rebounds.
 
Kjartansdottir got the Vaqueros on the board with a three-pointer and then after a back-to-back buckets by the Cougars, juGoff got the lead right back with a jumper that made it 5-4 with 5:05 left in the first quarter.
 
The Cougars then responded with a 5-0 run to close the first quarter but UTRGV answered with a 4-0 run to open the second as Goff tied it at nine with a layup. Later in the quarter, Preston gave the Vaqueros the 13-11 lead with a jumper with 6:11 left in the half.
 
There were 15 different ties or lead changes in the second quarter but it was Kjartansdottir who hit the final basket of the quarter as the Vaqueros and Cougars went into halftime tied at 23 apiece.
 
Goff gave the Vaqueros the quick lead in the second half with a layup and then after a three-pointer by Hawkins, Kjartansdottir got the lead right back with a jumper that made it 27-26 with 7:22 left in the third quarter.
 
Both teams went back and forth in the third but after a jumper by Goff that tied the game at 34-34, sophomore Laura Van Tilburg completed a three-point play that started a 12-2 run to close out the third quarter as the Vaqueros took a 42-36 lead into the final quarter of regulation.
 
Junior Anushka Maldonado then extended the Vaqueros' lead to 46-38 with a layup in the fourth quarter. The Cougars got within four points of the lead after a three-pointer by Alecia Smith but UTRGV converted their free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
 
The Vaqueros will be back in action on Wednesday, December 30 when they host Evangel University at the UTRGV Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. The game will be televised throughout the state of Texas on Time Warner SportsChannel (323). Doors open at 6 p.m.

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