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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The fourth-seeded University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's basketball team fell to fifth-seeded UMKC 77-69 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday at Orleans Arena.
 
Senior Shawnte' Goff led UTRGV (18-13) with a season-high 30 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc, plus 7-of-8 from the line, four assists and three steals. Junior Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds. Junior Weslaco alum Laura Van Tilburg scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting with seven rebounds and one block. Sophomore Nichele Hyman finsihed with eight points and and a career-high five steals.
 
Kristen Moore led UMKC (10-18) with 19 points and nine rebounds. Ceidra Coleman scored 14 points with five rebounds and five assists. Lyndsay Leikem finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
UTRGV hit 12 of its first 22 shots to jump out to a 30-12 lead over the first 13 and a half minutes. During that time, UTRGV used a 15-0 run to turn a 15-10 lead late in the first quarter into a 28-10 lead early in the second. Van Tilburg hit three straight baskets in the middle of the run.
 
UMKC did all of the scoring over the final six minutes of the second, however, as Coleman made two jumpers and a three to power a 19-0 run to give UMKC a 31-30 halftime lead.
 
After a Goff free throw tied the game at the start of the third, UMKC scored 10-straight points, capped by a Samantha Waldron three-pointer, to go up 41-31.
 
Midway through the third, UMKC still led 45-36, but Kjartansdóttir made four baskets and two free throws to power a 21-7 run to put UTRGV up 57-52 early in the fourth quarter.
 
UMKC scored the next nine points as part of a 15-2 run to go up 67-59 on a Waldron jumper.
 
That's when Goff hit two free throws, converted a three-point play and made a layup to help UTRGV pull within 69-66 with 2:14 remaining, but that's as close as UTRGV got.

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