LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball closed out the Women of Troy Classic with a 62-57 loss to Nevada on Saturday at Galen Center.
 
Graduate student Desirea Buerge led the Vaqueros (5-7) with a career-high 20 points while grabbing six rebounds and recording five steals. Senior Megan Johnson and redshirt sophomore Ashlei Lopez chipped in eight points each.
 
Nevada (6-5) had a pair in double-figure scoring as Miki'ala Maio and Essence Booker score 13 points each while Imani Lacy added nine points of her own. 
 
Nevada jumped out to the early 5-2 lead after a three-pointer by Da'Ja Hamilton but a fastbreak layup by Lopez got the Vaqueros within 5-4 with 5:28 left in the first quarter. Junior Valeria Tapia knocked down a jumper to tie the game at 9-9 before freshman Sara Bershers closed out the first to get the Vaqueros within 13-11 at the end of the quarter.
 
Lopez then tied the game at 13-13 with a layup to open the scoring in the second quarter but an 11-4 run by Nevada gave them the 24-17 lead with 5:59 left in the half. Later in the quarter, a jumper by freshman Sydney Cajero and a layup by redshirt junior Zhane Templeton cut into Nevada's lead 28-23 heading into halftime.
 
Nevada opened the second half with a 10-4 run that was capped by a three-pointer by Booker and then later in the third a three-pointer by A. West gave Nevada its biggest lead of the game at 41-28. Buerge scored eight points in the third quarter to cut into the Nevada lead as it took the 48-39 lead into the fourth.
 
The Vaqueros got buckets from Buerge, Lopez, Johnson, and junior Trelynn Tyler at the start of the fourth to get within 52-47 left to play. After baskets by Johnson and Lopez, Buerge gave the Vaqueros the 53-52 lead with a jumper with 4:08 left on the clock. Another Nevada run then gave them the 60-55 lead after a layup by Hamilton for the final lead change of the game. 
 
The Vaqueros will be back in action Saturday, December 28, when it visits Kansas State at 2 p.m.

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