MANHATTAN, Kan. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros women's basketball team was defeated 70-45 by the Kansas State Wildcats on Friday at the Bramlage Coliseum.
UTRGV (2-2) juniors
Halie Jones and
Jena' Williams led the Vaqueros offensively with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior
Mele Kailahi added eight points, nine rebounds and three steals. Freshman
Charlotte O'Keefe scored seven points, reeled in six rebounds and was one of four Vaqueros with one block.
Kansas State (4-0) was led by
Gabby Gregory and
Jaelyn Glenn who each scored 13 points.
Jones was the hot hand early in the contest, scoring UTRGV's first four points to keep the Vaqueros within one. But a 12-0 run by the Wildcats put them in control, and they maintained a lead throughout behind solid defense that kept UTRGV from scoring for long stretches of time. Kailahi ended a six-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, and Williams knocked down a shot to make it 19-9 after the first frame.
Kansas State kept UTRGV off the board until graduate student
Ashton McCorry hit a pair of free throws with 3:53 to make it 31-11. All four of UTRGV's third-quarter points came off free throws as the Vaqueros shot 90 percent from the charity stripe. They trailed 34-13 at halftime.
Jones scored four-straight points again in the third, then knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 40-21. Sophomore
KaCee Kyle followed with a pair of 3-pointers to close the third quarter, then Williams and Kailahi each hit one to start the fourth to make it 58-33. But another lengthy scoring drought for UTRGV allowed Kansas State to build up the lead.
O'Keefe came up big late in the fourth quarter with several rebounds, a steal and five-straight points. Kansas State shot 42.9 percent from the field while keeping UTRGV to 20.3 percent. The Wildcats outrebounded the Vaqueros 51-38.
UTRGV's road trip continues with a 2 p.m. Sunday contest at Kansas.
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