LUBBOCK – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's basketball team led by as much as seven before falling to Texas Tech 80-64 on Sunday at Lubbock Municipal Auditorium.
 
Junior Quynne Huggins led UTRGV (9-4) with a career-high 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Freshman Amara Graham scored eight points with three rebounds, four assists and a career-high three steals. Graduate student Marie-Fatou Gueye scored a career-high eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with a career-high two steals.
 
Jada Terry led Texas Tech (5-5)  with 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Erin Degrate scored 14 points with eight rebounds. Recee' Caldwell  scored 11 points with four assists. Lyndsey Whilby scored 10 points with three assists.
 
Huggins and Graham each hit a pair of three-pointers over the first five and a half minutes as UTRGV jumped out to a 14-7 lead. Texas Tech responded by scoring the next nine points to take the lead, but a jumper by junior Krisynthia Sampson tied the game at 16 and then a three by freshman Brownsville Saint Joseph-alum Valeria Tapia put UTRGV up 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.
 
A jumper by junior Jameka Dowell and a three by graduate student Alicia McCray allowed UTRGV to extend its lead to 24-20 early in the second.
 
UTRGV still led by four with 1:11 left in the quarter after a Huggins jumper made the score 36-32.
 
Then, with the scored tied at 36 at the start of the third, a Dowell layup put UTRGV up 38-36. Texas Tech responded by scoring the next nine points as part of an 18-6 run, however, to take the lead for good.
 
UTRGV is back in action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Canisius at the UTRGV Fieldhouse during the first day of the UTRGV Holiday Classic. The University of Southern California (USC) faces Middle Tennessee State at 4:30 p.m.
 
Fans donating a useable coat will receive free general admission to the game. Current UTRGV students, who already receive free admission, will receive a free concession stand item with their donations.
 
All donations benefit Tim's Coats, a non-profit organization that distributes coats to families in need throughout the Rio Grande Valley in conjunction with the Southwest Dry Cleaners Association.
 
Doors open at 3:30.

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