PHOENIX, Ariz. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's basketball team fell to Grand Canyon University (GCU) 60-59 on Saturday at GCU Arena.
 
Junior Hildur Björg Kjarstandóttir led UTRGV (12-8, 2-2 WAC) with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including a career-best 4-of-4 from behind the arc, and eight rebounds. Senior Shawnte' Goff scored 10 points with four assists. Senior Mary Savoy also finished with 10 points. Sophomore Nichele Hyman scored nine points while going a career-best 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Freshman Bernesha Peters scored eight points with five rebounds.
 
Brie Mobley led GCU (10-6, 2-1 WAC) with 20 points and eight rebounds. Marina Laramie finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Casey Rarrick scored 13 points.
 
Savoy scored the first five points of the game and UTRGV's first seven to help UTRGV jump out to a 9-3 lead.
 
GCU pulled within 9-6 on a Laramie jumper, but Peters followed with a jumper of her own. Then, after Rarrick hit a pair of free throws, Hyman buried a three to put UTRGV up 14-8 before Laramie used two layups to help GCU score six-straight to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
 
The game stayed tied for much of the second quarter, as the score was tied at 20 before freshman Megan Johnson sunk four free throws to give UTRGV the lead at halftime.
 
GCU came back to tie the game on a Mobley layup early in the third quarter, and the game was still tied at 31 midway through the period, but Hyman and Kjarstandóttir knocked down three-pointers around a Laramie layup to put UTRGV up 37-33.
 
UTRGV extended its lead to seven at 42-35 on a Goff three-point play early in the fourth quarter, and then again at 45-38 on a Kjarstandóttir three.

GCU used an 8-0 run take a 52-50 lead on a Mobley layup with 3:25 remaining, but Kjarstandóttir hit a three to restore UTRGV's advantage. GCU and UTRGV traded baskets over the next two minutes, with Laramie hitting a layup followed by a Goff three, and Mobley making a jumper followed by a Kjarstandóttir three to put UTRGV up 59-56 with 1:49 to go.
 
Laramie hit a layup 10 seconds later to make it a one-point game, and then Mobley made  a layup with 5.7 seconds left to give GCU the lead.
 
UTRGV had the length of the court to go, but Rarrick fouled Hyman with 0.6 seconds left, forcing Goff to force-up a three that didn't go in at the buzzer off the inbound pass.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Chicago State.

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