<strong>NATCHITOCHES, La. </strong>– The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's basketball team battled to nearly erase a 19-point deficit Thursday in a Southland Conference (SLC) contest but was defeated, 73-66, by the Northwestern State (NSU) Demons at Prather Coliseum. <br />  <br /> Graduate student G/F <strong>Kade Hackerott </strong>tabbed her third 20-point game of the season as she scored 22 points with five rebounds for UTRGV (10-12, 5-6 SLC). Junior forward <strong>Charlotte O'Keefe </strong>recorded her 10^th double-double as she scored 14 points and tabbed 14 rebounds to go with two steals. Freshman guard <strong>Gianna Angiolet </strong>and senior guard <strong>Tierra Trotter </strong>each scored 10 points while Trotter also dished out four assists and swiped two steals. <br />  <br /> <strong>Mya Blake </strong>led Northwestern State (9-10, 6-4 SLC) with 31 points and five assists. <strong>Sharna Ayres </strong>scored 20 points. <strong>Carla Celaya </strong>added 11 points with eight rebounds. <br />  <br /> The first quarter saw both teams go on scoring runs through a competitive 10 minutes. Northwestern State opened up a 17-6 lead thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Ayres during a 12-0 run. Hackerott hit a three and scored five straight points to spark a 9-0 run to end the quarter. <br />  <br /> The Demons held a 17-15 lead heading to the second quarter and quickly grew that advantage to 24-15 before UTRGV's defense stepped up. The Vaqueros kept NSU scoreless for over four minutes, but the shooting woes continued and the gap only closed to six during that stretch. Northwestern State played fast and was successful driving to the basket to lead by as many as 12 points late in the first half. Angiolet knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes and recorded a steal. UTRGV trailed, 36-24, heading to the locker room.<br />  <br /> NSU scored eight unanswered early in the second half as the lead grew to 19 points. The defense was smothering and physical and kept the Vaqueros at arms length headed to the fourth. <br />  <br /> There, UTRGV found another level of intensity. Freshman guard <strong>Elizabeth Romer </strong>came off the bench and drilled a corner three to fire up the Vaqueros. Both teams pushed the pace of play, racing up and down the court as they exchanged scores. UTRGV countered NSU's physicality on offense to earn frequent trips to the free throw line. Hackerott completed a pair of three-point plays as she forced her way to the hoop through contact. <br />  <br /> The Vaqueros kept the Demons offense off the board for five minutes in the fourth quarter, going on a 10-0 run in that defensive flurry. O'Keefe intercepted a pass and took the turnover straight to the basket to get within 68-64 with 2:54 on the clock. But UTRGV didn't score for the remainder of the game and NSU was able to secure the win at the free throw line. <br />  <br /> The Vaqueros will be back at the UTRGV Fieldhouse for a South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, game Saturday at 2 p.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at <a href="https://www.showpass.com/o/university-of-texas-rio-grande-valley-utrgv/">GoUTRGV.com/Tickets</a>. Current UTRGV students get into the game free with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy and photo policies, among others, details of which can be found <a href="https://goutrgv.com/sports/2012/8/16/ticket_and_venue_policy">here</a>. Fans will need to be mindful of the temporary changes to the Fieldhouse parking, details can be found at <a href="https://goutrgv.com/news/2025/1/24/mens-basketball-utrgv-athletics-announces-temporary-changes-to-fieldhouse-parking.aspx">GoUTRGV.com/Parking</a>.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://give.utrgv.edu/athletics">Support UTRGV Women's Basketball</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UTRGVAthletics">Become a Fan on Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/GoUTRGV">Follow us on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://instagram.com/goutrgv/">Follow us on Instagram</a> | <a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/goutrgvathletics">Follow us on YouTube</a><br />   Read Full Article