RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team fell to the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds 68-65 in overtime on Saturday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior
Tierra Trotter led the Vaqueros (4-16, 3-8 WAC) with a career-high 20 points, three rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Junior
Kade Hackerott scored 15 points with nine rebounds, two assists, one block, and two steals. Junior
Arianna Sturdivant scored 11 points with three rebounds and one assist. Senior
Zariah Sango grabbed a career-high seven rebounds with six points, one assist, and one steal.
Samantha Johnston led the Thunderbirds (6-14, 4-7 WAC) with 18 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Alexa Lord recorded a double-double, scoring 14 points with 12 rebounds while adding one block and one steal.
Daylani Ballena scored 16 points with seven assists and five rebounds.
Ashley Banks scored 11 points with five rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
The Thunderbirds took their largest lead of the game at 39-29 in the opening seconds of the third quarter. Trotter answered with a 3-pointer and a layup to spark a 16-3 run to give the Vaqueros a 45-42 lead. The Thunderbirds, however, closed the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 49-45 advantage.
The Vaqueros trailed 58-52 midway through the fourth when sophomore
Charlotte O'Keefe hit a pair of free throws and Trotter came up with back-to-back jumpers to bring the Vaqueros within one.
The Thunderbirds still had the lead at 61-57 in the final minute when Trotter drove the lane and converted a tough 3-point play to cut the lead to one with 50 seconds remaining. Hackerott gave the Vaqueros the lead with two free throws with 16 seconds left. Ballena followed by going 1-for-2 from the line under the pressure of a roaring crowd to send the game to overtime.
The Thunderbirds took the early lead in overtime before Trotter drilled a 3 to tie the game at 65 with 2:27 remaining. The Thunderbirds, however, hit three free throws down the stretch to win the game.
The Vaqueros opened the game on a 7-2 run, highlighted by a deep three pointer by Sturdivant.
The Vaqueros still led at 12-9 on a Sango basket before the Thunderbirds hit three-straight 3-pointers as part of an 11-0 run to take the lead.
Trotter swished a half-court shot to beat the first quarter buzzer to kick off a 9-3 run to bring the Vaqueros within 23-21. The Thunderbirds, however, scored the next eight points to build their first 10-point lead of the game.
UTRGV hosts Stephen F. Austin on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse for breast cancer awareness night. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive pink pom poms and all fans are encouraged to wear pink. The first 300 UTRGV students in attendance receive free food. The game also features the Cane's Challenge. If the Vaqueros win, all fans in the fieldhouse will receive coupons for buy one, get one free box combos at Raising Cane's on their way out.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at
GoUTRGV.com/Tickets. Current UTRGV students receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at
GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. The party starts in Schlotzsky's Vaquero Village at 5:30 p.m.
Fans unable to attend in person can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
WAC International.
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