RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team dropped the home finale Saturday, 72-58, to the California Baptist (CBU) Lancers in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) game at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Junior
Iyana Dorsey and freshman
Jayda Holiman paced UTRGV (6-21, 5-13 WAC) with 14 points each. Holiman had eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Junior
Kade Hackerott scored eight points with seven rebounds and senior
Zariah Sango tabbed a career-high nine rebounds on Senior Day.
Chloe Webb led CBU (24-3, 16-2 WAC) with 19 points and had six rebounds.
Kinsley Barrington and
Nae Nae Calhoun scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Calhoun tabbed a double-double with 10 rebounds.
The Vaqueros trailed 20-18 at the end of the first quarter, settling in nicely to make things tight after falling behind by as many as eight points. Junior
Tierra Trotter drilled a three-pointer on UTRGV's first possession, but the Lancers quickly opened up an 11-3 lead. Holiman was the catalyst for the big close to the quarter, scoring six points in a row with a three-ball and a nifty layup through contact for a three-point play.
UTRGV's defense settled in and slowed down CBU with good defensive rebounding and speed getting on the ball. Holiman took a long rebound high-speed down the court for a layup to make it 18-15, then the teams swapped scores through the final minute of the frame.
Dorsey gave the Vaqueros their first lead of the game at 21-20 after a quick-release three from deep. But CBU responded with a 7-0 run to get back on top. Sophomore
Charlotte O'Keefe drilled back-to-back three-pointers to trim the deficit to 29-27, then Dorsey hit the fourth deep ball of the frame to end another CBU run and make it 37-32.
The Lancers controlled a physical and chippy end of the half, opening a 46-34 advantage at halftime.
Anaiyah Tu'ua hit a three then assisted on another on the next possession, pushing the scoring differential to double digits.
Both offenses were quiet coming out of the break, with the Lancers scoring the only points of the first three minutes off a layup. The Vaqueros got on a roll midway through the frame with
Johnson running the offense as she drove in for a layup and graduate student
Ashton McCorry and Hackerott both knocked down threes in their final home contest, getting within 53-44. UTRGV played fast and aggressive to keep the game within reach, but CBU held a 62-50 lead heading to the final frame.
UTRGV played with admirable effort in the final 10 minutes, playing tough defense and pushing through a lot of contact on offense. But some good looks rolled off the rim and the Lancers did just enough to maintain their cushion and pulled away late.
The Vaqueros will close the regular season with a pair of road WAC games starting with an 8 p.m. contest at Utah Tech on Thursday. Fans unable to attend in person can watch domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
WAC International.
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