NACOGDOCHES – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team traveled to the William R. Johnson Coliseum on Saturday and spoiled the Stephen F. Austin 'Jacks' senior night, pulling off a thrilling 76-74 victory in the regular season finale to snap SFA's 32-game conference winning streak and 38-game home winning streak, which had been the longest in the nation.
Graduate student
Taylor Muff led the Vaqueros (12-18, 8-10 Western Athletic Conference) with 23 points in 39 minutes. Muff made three 3-pointers and tallied six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore
Sara Bershers finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, four three-pointers, three steals and one block. Sophomore
Halie Jones added 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Freshman
Arianna Sturdivant scored all 12 of her points on three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Aiyana Johnson led SFA (26-4, 17-1 WAC) with 20 points, 12 rebounds and three steals.
Stephanie Visscher and
Zya Nugent each scored 17 points for the LadyJacks.
After a tight first quarter, UTRGV used a fantastic 14-0 run that spanned four minutes of the second quarter to open up a 32-23 lead. A three-point play from Jones and six straight points from the sophomore got the Vaqueros rolling. Bershers knocked down two of UTRGV's five second-quarter 3-pointers to extend the lead to 32-23 in the dominant stretch.
The LadyJacks responded by tightening up their defense and getting some possession calls to go their way. SFA allowed only one UTRGV free throw while going on an 8-1 run backed by going 6-for-8 at the charity stripe to trim its deficit to 33-31.
Muff scored the final five points of the half with a jumper and a 3-pointer to keep UTRGV on top 38-31 at halftime.
SFA kept the Vaqueros scoreless for three and a half minutes to start the third quarter, tying the game at 38-38. Muff nailed a pair of 3-pointers as the two squads exchanged leads. The LadyJacks went up 49-44, but UTRGV went on a 9-0 run late in the third and maintained a 53-51 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
The final frame had several lengthy delays for reviews, and a handful of technical fouls were handed out to both teams as things got heated.
Sturdivant knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to put UTRGV up by seven at the start of the fourth quarter. SFA made six free throws to get within 61-60. Then, Sturdivant drilled another pair of 3-pointers to make it 67-63 in UTRGV's favor.
SFA tied the game three times in three minutes late in the fourth. A steal by Kyle, a jumper from Muff and an offensive foul called against SFA allowed UTRGV to hold a 74-72 lead with time running down.
SFA tied up UTRGV on an inbound with 7.2 on the clock and got the ball back, trailing 76-74 following a pair of Muff free throws. The LadyJacks were awarded two free throws following a foul, but both were missed. SFA swiped a steal on the final inbound pass and hurled up a 3-pointer to try to win at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim and UTRGV held on for the stunning victory.
The Vaqueros will be the No. 8 seed at the WAC Tournament and will face No. 9 Seattle U on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Las Vegas.
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