LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team rallied after trailing by as many as 18 points to Long Beach State University before falling 69-65 in the opening game of the Women of Troy Classic on Friday at Galen Center.
 
Junior Trelynn Tyler led all scorers with 27 points to go along with a career-high six steals and five rebounds. Redshirt juniors Amara Graham and Zhane Templeton each added nine points while junior Ashlei Lopez and freshman Sara Bershers chipped in with eight points each.
 
Justina King led Long Beach with 20 points with five rebounds while Shanaijah Davison scored 17 points with six assists. 
 
Both teams went back and forth in the opening quarter as Graham opened up the scoring with a three-pointer before King answered with a three-pointer of her own. Later in the quarter, Tyler knocked down a jumper that gave the Vaqueros the 11-10 lead with 3:33 left in the quarter before Long Beach responded with an 11-3 run to close out the first quarter. 
 
Long Beach opened the second quarter with back-to-back buckets before a three-pointer by Tyler made it 27-17. Long Beach then followed with an 8-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night but it was Tyler who rallied the Vaqueros to a 12-4 run as she scored eight points throughout the run to get the Vaqueros within 39-29 at halftime. 
 
In the third quarter, a three-pointer by Bershers got the Vaqueros within 45-36 but Long Beach outscored the Vaqueros 14-7 in the last five and a half minutes to take the 59-43 lead into the final quarter. 
 
Tyler opened the scoring for the Vaqueros in the fourth with a layup as she sparked a 12-1 run to get the Vaqueros within 60-55 with 4:04 left to play. Tyler scored nine of her 27 points in the final quarter. Later in the quarter, a pair of free throws by King pushed Long Beach's lead back to 66-57 as a late push by the Vaqueros fell short.
 
The Vaqueros will be back in action on Saturday when it closes out the Women of Troy Classic at 1 p.m. against Nevada.

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