EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's basketball team is off to a 6-1 start for the second time in program history and the first time since 1991-92 after beating Prairie View A&M (PVAM) 78-62 on Sunday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in the final round of the Feast of Sharing Tournament.
 
Freshman Brownsville Saint Joseph-alum Valeria Tapia earned the Tournament Most Valuable Player award and is joined on the All-Tournament team by graduate student Weslaco alum Laura Van Tilburg and juniors Krisynthia Sampson and Quynne Huggins. During the tournament, Tapia averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 assists per game. Van Tilburg averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Sampson averaged 8.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Huggins averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
 
In this game, Van Tilburg led UTRGV with 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Tapia posted her first double-double with a career-high 14 points and a career-high 12 assists. Huggins finished with 11 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Graduate student Alicia McCray scored a season-high 11 points with a season-high seven rebounds. Junior Jameka Dowell scored a career-high 10 points with a career-high tying three steals.
 
Jordyn Penniman led PVAM (2-3) with 17 points. Shala Dobbins scored 16 points with seven assists. Talisha Presley finished with 10 points and four assists.
 
UTRGV hit its first four shots of the game, including a pair of Huggins jumpers, to take an 11-3 lead over the first seven minutes.
 
PVAM pulled within 13-10 early in the second quarter before a Tapia jumper and a Huggins three pushed the lead back out to eight.
 
PVAM got as close as 35-33 early in the third quarter, but Van Tilburg scored eight points as part of a 20-5 run during which UTRGV went 7-for-10 from the field to push the lead to 55-38.
 
UTRGV took its largest lead of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, when a McCray three put UTRGV up 18 at 58-40.
 
PVAM responded with a 20-7 run to climb within 65-60, but UTRGV scored the next seven points as part of a 13-2 run to end the game.
 
UTRGV will look to get off to a 7-1 start for the first time in program history when it visits Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union. UTRGV currently leads the showdown 15.5-6.5.

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