RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It's not how you start, it's how you finish. That was a very relevant message as The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's (UTRGV) women's basketball team held its first official practice of the 2024-25 season Tuesday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. 
 
The energy levels were high from the jump – but maybe a little too high to start, said associate head coach Kevin Hackerott. There were some signs of nerves and some mishaps early in the session as the Vaqueros hit the hardwood amped up. As practice rolled on, though, the student-athletes found a groove and were sharp through the final drills, closing the first day on a high note. 
 
"I've been doing it 28 years and before the first one it's still kind of a goosebumps, nerves in a good way, excited feeling," Hackerott said. "I think they might've been a little too torqued up early, but it's because it's exciting. We saw a little bit of nerves early, especially with the freshmen, but once they settled in, I really liked our energy. That's really encouraging because last year we maybe wouldn't have been able to fight through that rough start. I really liked the grit because it could've went a little south early but they responded really well." 
 
Tuesday was an A day for the Vaqueros, meaning the primary focus was offense. They'll rotate between A, B and C days, with B days focusing on defense and C days being more of a non-contact, individual work and shootaround practice to minimize the wear and tear on their bodies. UTRGV will follow that schedule over the next four or so weeks leading up to the first game on Nov. 5 at Houston. 
 
The Vaqueros started the first practice like they did their summer training sessions, spending the opening 30 minutes stretching and doing warm-up drills to help with injury prevention. Then they did group drills, guard/post breakdown which saw assistant coaches Ipek Turkyilmaz and Victoria Peña get active with the guards and assistant coach Keanna Keys and graduate student coach Ronnie Cantu work with the post players, and dribble motion entry sets in the half court for 20 minutes each. 
 
UTRGV closed the practice with a tough 15 minutes of full-court dribble motion entry sets. Each turn saw the Vaqueros, split into two teams, compete against each other and make four trips up and down the court simulating a live game. They were physical, fast and left it all on the hardwood. 
 
"Our goal is for them to give us 100% every day. We talked about that in the huddle. If you're hurting, if you're down a little bit, if you're only at 80%, you got to give us 100% of your 80%. That's all we can ask of these kids," Hackerott said. 
 
Hackerott praised the effort shown by each Vaquero, but sophomore guard Madison Huhn, junior forward Charlotte O'Keefe and senior guard Tierra Trotter were a few individuals who stood out to the coach. He was appreciative of the energy the five freshmen, Kayla Lorenz, Gianna Angiolet, Elizabeth Romer, Sophia Zufelt and JaNai Coleman, brought to the gym. 
 
The first official day of practice is always a fun one, but the Vaqueros also know these first 40 days counting down to the season opener will have ups and downs. They're determined to make the most of each day, each practice, each second they get to develop and grow together and enjoy every second of the season that is now underway. 
 
"Kade [Hackerott] said it best, we were talking last night, and she said, 'You know Dad, when that first game comes, it's going to go really, really fast after that.' She's right," Kevin Hackerott said. "It's going to feel like the next four weeks aren't, but then once we play, it's going to go quick. You're going to have good days, you're going to have bad days, just make sure you're working hard every time you're out here and taking advantage of your time." 

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