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EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team fell to the New Mexico State University Aggies 68-57 on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in front of a crowd of 1,709.

It was the fifth largest crowd in program history and the largest ever for a conference game. It's also the largest crowd since Nov. 18, 2011, when 1,912 fans were in attendance during a game against Texas State.
 
Senior Rickell Preston led the Vaqueros (13-9, 5-2 WAC) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior Shawnte' Goff scored 15 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
 
Sasha Weber led the Aggies (18-3, 7-0 WAC) with 18 points while going 5-for-9 from behind the arc. Brianna Freeman scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
 
Brooke Salas hit a pair of early layups as the Aggies jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Goff and freshman Bernesha Peters responded with a pair of three-pointers as the Vaqueros pulled to within 13-10, but the Aggies forced six turnovers over the next five and a half minutes during a 9-1 run to take their largest lead of the half at 22-11.
 
The Vaqueros were within seven at 30-23 near the end of the second quarter, but Weber hit a three right before the buzzer and another three at the start of the third to power a 10-3 run that saw the Aggies go up 40-26.
 
The Aggies extended their lead to 46-30 on a Weber three midway through the third. The Vaqueros scored the next six points to pull within 10, but Freeman bookended a 9-2 run with layups to push the Aggies' lead to 55-38 with 7:34 remaining.
 
The Vaqueros are back in action on Thursday at 12 p.m. when they visit Utah Valley.

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